Farm Commonwalker
Tropes and Archetypes
Index: Underlings | The Villainous Way of Command | The Villain’s Apprentice
Deserved superiority | The Quest for thy Hate | M for Mystery | Dream big and leave home
The Definition
The Peasant Hero, the Everyman, the Farmboy or Farmgirl, is definitely one of the most olden and enduring character archetype.
It is rooted in our agricultural and hunter past, for this is how we all lived. The storytellers of the ancient world weaved this archetype into existence naturally, for indeed, this was the most relatable hero. Of course, the factory worker/towns person rose into prominence and stood beside the farmer during the industrial age.
With the emergence of the digital and, more recently, the cybertech age, we have two new recruits join this eternal heroic archetype: the Hacker and the Cyborg.
Characteristic for this hero is his or her humble beginnings, never mind the areal of their birth. The salt of the earth, most of our farmer and hunter ancestors were such by necessity; you needed food or you would die. With the advances of knowledge and engineering, the townsman, be they truck drivers, machinists, or factory workers, joined forces with those who produced our food.
They built and maintain our infrastructure, lay the power lines, water pipes, and canalization. Together the Farmer, the Machinist, the Electrician, the Plumber, the Road worker, and the Truck driver, enabled an age of plenty unheard of.
Our Common Hero does not wish to become one, thus, he or she outright refuses the Call to Adventure. They absolutely love what they are doing, and have absolutely no desire to leave their beloved pastoral village/neighborhood/cozy high-rise building. However, fate asks not what they want and, oftentimes without mercy, rips our fellows from their beloved, wholesome “everydayness.”
This dark fate might come in the form of vile gangsters who terrorize the Townsman/woman's neighborhood; the army of an invading kingdom, who raise the Farmer's village to the ground and salt his fields; the authoritarian force of a degenerate governmental apparatus who shackle the Machinist to his or her station; the greedy, overbearing corporation who seek to enslave the Hacker and bind the Cyborg to their malevolent will.
Thus, our everyday person is forced to pick up the sword, the rifle, or in the case of our Digital/Cybertech era protagonists, the computer, and resist.
Character craft
The relatability of this character archetype is best encapsulated by:
Lack of martial skill
Dependence on others
The desire to see justice done
Of course, there may be older and newer character tropes added onto the template, depending on what you, the author need your hero to be. For the purpose of this article however, I am going to focus on the foundation of this archetype. My fellow indie wordsmiths are quite capable of modifying and building literally everything from the grounds up.
Lack of martial skill: Because our peaceful person was not in any way shape or form a warrior, nor were they burning with want for adventure, they have the physical endurance and martial skill of the average Joe... or Mary. This is not to say that our character is completely helpless; they are probably capable of holding their own against an Underling or two, and have some basic survival skill.
Yet, to become a proper Hero, the commoner needs a whole lot of martial training. Thus, to label him or her a partisan, a member of some resistance cell, is more than fitting. No one can simply transmogrify into a commandos overnight... unless... well... they are the Chosen One. Their Mentor is there not only to instruct and gives them a magical sword, a suit of enchanted armor, or the super special prototype mecha/starfighter/panzer :D
The Storytelling and Storyshowing key here is that our Hero may be many times more vulnerable in combat than his or her companions. Meaning, we can write plenty of scenes where even a handful of Underlings mop the floor or country road with our soon-to-be Commoner Hero.
Dependence on others: While this character is on their way to become a proper Hero, them being an Everyday person translates into heavy reliance on the help of others. Be they members of a resistance cell, undercover lawmen, an order of space knights, or an army of lurking deep in the interwebs hackers, said others are our Hero's lifeline.
Everything that he or she may be one day, is enabled by these helpers and mentors. From the way of the gun, the sword, or the space mecha, all advanced skill and abilities are bestowed to the Commoner Hero by others. They may notice the Hero's potential, their untapped power so to speak, and, for the good of their cause; to ensure the survival of their children; for a future free of oppression, they would be willing to give up their lives.
Miss not a single opportunity to storyshow the training montage. All the things our Hero barely succeeds in and, of course, every single failure. Because there will be failings, even such that may cost the lives of one or more of the Hero's helpers/mentor. Storytelling is of paramount importance since by achieving a good balance between it and Storyshowing, the reader/viewer/player is able to fully imprint themselves into our Hero.
The desire to see justice done: Having seen his or her loved ones and family crushed under the boot of the oppressor, slain by an invader, or mercilessly exploited by parasitic gangsters, the Common Hero craves justice. Of course, all authors are different and since this is but the foundation of the archetype, implementation of said justice will vary.
Restoring the balance is a goal universal for all Heroes. For our Common Hero to achieve such a feat, they must train with breakneck speed, suffer terrible wounds of mind and body. Being originally people of peace, they understand that to protect what they love, terrible vengeance must be visited upon the obnoxious parasites who stole said peace.
Moreover, to ensure that other peaceful common people are safe and could pursue their dreams in peace, the Common Hero will be forced to make certain choices. They would sacrifice the return to their own peace and stand constant vigil weapon in hand, so that their own pain and suffering may not visit others.
A scarred Hero
However you chose to write him or her, your Common Hero will live a life of constant strife, and battle scars of the soul. Storyshow and Storytell every single thing, so that the reader is fully on board with bullet wounds, blade cuts, and the waking terrors of PTSD. This would affect our Hero even more than others who have benefited from advance combat training and psychological conditioning, or came from the lineage of professional soldiers.
Of course, the display and tell of these painful events must not be in any way shape or form hamfisted or over the top.
If I may, I would provide an example from my own writings.
The character of Lilly or Lillyana, is a farmer and an exobiologist. She is one of the uplifted species from the Starshatter Universe, a bunny. Not one to seek battle, nevertheless, like all Terrans, Lilly has some basic firearm training and survival skills.
She lives in peace on a planet called Carrola, together with her brother and neighbors. Her days are spent doing scientific research of the local flora, exploring new ways to adapt crops for the harsh environment, and tending to her watermelon fields. Yet, one day, while she is out checking her farm irrigation system, her tiny village is attacked.
Forced to survive in the forest alone, with basic gear and little to no supplies, Lilly suffers many a scar. The long days and nights being chased by soldiers who exterminated her neighbors and killed her brother with casual ferocity for the sake of building a simple forward observation post of their Imperium, gave Lillyana severe PTSD.
Yet, she persevered and lived to join the crew of IMS Starshatter. No longer a humble farmer, a peaceful, nature-loving scientist, but a scarred painted face in the bush. Her paws holding not the mattock or the wrench, but the vibroblade and the railgun carbine...
The Indie opinion
In forging your Common Hero, be they a Farmer, a Townsman/Woman, a Hacker or a Cyborg, never forget that you are storytelling and storyshowing an embodiment of the everyday people. A free character emboldened by hope and unshackled by nihilism is not only relatable, but truly inspirational. Because us commoners of today, we were once dirty peons and hungry serfs of the ages past, those who hoped and sacrificed sweat and blood to build a better future for their progeny – us.
Embrace not depression-inducing modernist hopelessness, I say!
That would cripple those who hope to build, create, better themselves, and help others. Instead, they'll stop, and discouraged, lay down their hallowed future dreams upon the altar of self-induced failure. To not even try, for fear that anything they'd do is doomed to failure. Convinced to give up and instead point your finger at imaginary obstacles, when the only one who is stopping you is... you.
I will leave you with an excerpt from the Terran Minarchy’s Morale Officer Handbook:
“There is nothing stronger than a sword reforged, mind emboldened by the living truth, and soul ablaze with life-saving intent!”
Another solid set of definitions and examples here. However, there is one point with which I must take some umbrage:
"Our Common Hero does not wish to become one, thus, he or she outright refuses the Call to Adventure. They absolutely love what they are doing, and have absolutely no desire to leave their beloved pastoral village/neighborhood/cozy high-rise building."
This is not a universal trait to the common hero.
As an example of why this isn't universal, let's look at the hero you use in your cover photo, Luke Skywalker as he is in the original Star Wars. Now, is Luke resistant to leaving Tatooine to go with Old Ben on his search for the princess? Yes he is. But why is he resistant? Is it because he wants to stay on the farm with his aunt and uncle? Is it because he loves the work he does and the planet he calls home?
No. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Luke actively dreams of adventure. He actively dreams of leaving Tatooine to join his friends Biggs and Wedge at the Imperial Academy so they can hone their skills as starfighter pilots together. He also makes it clear that, outside of his family, he has no desire to come back when he does leave. (Recall what he says to Obi-Wan after he finds Owen and Beru dead: "There's nothing here for me now.")
We know Luke values his family because the reason he gives Obi-Wan for why he can't leave is his responsibilities on the moisture farm. However, his responsibilities are not his desires. Luke actively wants to leave. He does not love being a moisture farmer. He does not love Tatooine. He wants adventure. He wants to be a hero. He wants, quite literally, to save the princess. As such, since he is still considered to be one of the poster boys for the common hero while not exhibiting those traits, we can't possibly say that those traits are universal to the common hero.
Never heard of a commoner hero not wanting adventure, I think this article missed the mark there quite a bit. It is still good and gets a lot right, but everymen always crave adventure. It is the most noteworthy thing about them.