sample Mountains Beyond Mountains response log

Things to note: MLA format, quote integration, advanced vocab integration highlighted in italics and followed by a quick appositive phrase defining the word, mix of summary but mostly commentary and analysis, meaningful variation in sentence structure

Thank you to Kelsey for allowing me to post this submission!

Howell

 

Kelsey Fiske

Mr. Howell

English AP 11

August 15, 2016

Mountains Beyond Mountains: Log One

    As someone who is likely to pursue a career in some medical field, I was drawn to the level of dedication and devotion of Dr. Paul Farmer as portrayed in “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder.  Dr. Farmer is presented as an ambitious and kind man who wanted to care for every ill, injured, or unhealthy person he encountered while working in the poorest areas on the struggling island nation of Haiti. Dr. Farmer is never dubious, or hesitating, but rather is shown to be a rather impressive man who is willing to sacrifice his time, money, relationships, and even his sleep to achieve his objectives.

“There’s a lot to be said for sacrifice, remorse, even pity. It’s what separates us from the roaches” (Kidder 40).   

As I was reading the descriptions of how destitute, or extremely poor, the people of central Haiti were whom Dr Farmer was treating, I began to wonder if I could ever imagine myself eagerly working in “one of the poorest parts of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere” (Kidder 20).  I found the sharp contrast between the conditions at Lamni Lasante in Haiti with those at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to be oddly similar to the differences in personality sometimes apparent in Dr. Farmer.  He is both, a man who demonstrates such kindness and concern as to be referred to as a “saint” by the villagers in Haiti, and a driven individual who can resort to haranguing, or aggressively lecturing at length, those who oppose him.  “People call me a saint, and I think, I have to work harder” (Kidder 16).  Another contrast I noticed within Dr Farmer is his belief in both the medicine and religion and his ambivalence, or contradictory feelings, about the value of each.   

Throughout the first part of the book, it became obvious to me that Haiti is not a sojourn, or temporary stay for Dr. Farmer, but his life’s work.  Dr. Farmer makes this clear to the author in stating “To see my oeuvre, you have to come to Haiti” (Kidder 17).  In considering the number of patients, challenges, and obstacles Dr. Farmer contends with on a daily basis, I came to realize the appropriateness of the book’s title “Mountains Beyond Mountains”.  Just like mountains have bumps and ridges to overcome so does Dr.Farmer's work. When he encounters a bump in his research and treatment he climbs over it. When he reaches a ridge he glides over it.  Dr. Farmer will not leave until he has done his part and cured and helped as many people as he possibly can. I find it admirable that Dr. Farmer not only anticipates the mountain in front of him but also the ones beyond it as well.