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Georgia Lam
Professor Michael Lasley
English 1A
28 November 2016
Lens Essay
In her work Its Time for Class: Toward a More Complex Pedagogy of Narrative, English
professor Amy Robillard argues the importance of personal narratives, emphasizing it as a
valuable learning opportunity for first-year students to utilize. Because the personal narrative
necessitates us to look at life through the three lens of the past, present, and future, students can
create a meaningful connection between the three staggered facets of time. The personal
narrative, she articulates, is an interpretative mechanism for students to gain and cultivate
identity consciousness.
However, it has become common for the academia to dismiss the personal narrative,
because it fails to embody the middle-class values in which first-year composition classes
teaches and emphasizes. Professors readily assume that the traditional first-year student upholds
middle-class values, such as consistently planning a future of attainable hopes, employing What
if? to pursue opportunities, and exercising delayed gratification as a motivating means for
success. However, Robillard challenges that assumption and instead establishes that not everyone
fits the mold of the traditional student, especially those uncertain of their futures. She alludes to
the seemingly, universal first-year composition curriculums disregard those nontraditional,
outlying students of a different socioeconomic status. In her piece, Robillard specifically points
out the reality of how the working class cannot perceive time the same way as the middle class
does. Compared to the middle class, the working class has less access to resources and

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opportunities, which are the necessary mechanisms that decides how much control we can
exercise in our lives. Having flexibility changes the way we make decisions, and consequently
influences our life circumstances and prospects. Thus, hardships are evitable without the daily
security of a balance, fixed structure in the lives of the working class. They are always
confronted with questions that are not within their jurisdiction to answer or control, such as
whether there is enough money to make it another day. Because socioeconomic classes vary in
the values and the lifestyle they have, time is not a universal concept. Thus, Robillard upholds
the concept of how social classes perceive time differently. Although her concept is specifically
regarding education in the academia setting, her ideal could be applied outside the classroom
setting and on a wider scale of the world.
In fact, Robillards concept of how different social classes perceive time differently is
embodied through Tracy Kidders novel Mountains Beyond Mountains. The novel revolves
around the main protagonist and renaissance man of Dr. Paul Farmer, who is a globally
renowned doctor, eminent expert in infectious diseases, anthropologist, entrepreneur,
humanitarian, and professor. Through Kidders perspective, we follow Farmers international
campaign to cure life-threatening diseases, bring medical aid to improvised-stricken nations, and
provide basic healthcare so destitute individuals in those nations have the opportunity to simply
live life without severe health issues. Dr. Paul Farmers motivation to take on such a daunting
and enormous mission stems from his concern of how third-world countries are generally
ignored and disregarded for basic necessities (food, water, shelter, healthcare, and education)
theyre severely deprived of. Perhaps one of the most evident disparities emphasized in the novel
is the accessibility to healthcare. On one hand, first-world nations have access to basic and
intensive healthcare needs such as doctors, medicine, medical treatments, emergency visits to the

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hospital, and vaccinations. In the 21th century age of technology and constant progress, access to
such wide range of health resources isnt considered a privilege, but rather what Farmer
considers as all human beings must have as birthrights (Kidder 91). Regardless, we tend to
take first-world privileges like annual doctor checkups and over-the-counter drugs for granted,
since we dont spend and occupy time consciously thinking about getting these basic needs met.
Therefore, like middle-class students, we spend our time on more important and pressing
obligations-- whether it be getting into a dream college for an aspiring student or acquiring a new
company as a businessman. Because we have the luxury of getting basic needs met and stability
in our lives, we can perceive time as for the future. On the other hand, individuals of third-world
nations do not have the luxury of time to worry about their future, when their greatest challenges
include getting their basic needs met in the current moment. There are countless times in the
novel when readers can observe how not having the luxury of time changes the perception of
time in third-world nations. As Farmer reasons, in poverty-stricken Haiti, late middle age could
mean thirty years old, since 25% of Haitians die before they reach forty (Kidder 25). In making
this comment, Farmer implies how for Haitians, their short life spans prevent them from
perceiving time as a luxury that could be spent spontaneously and enjoyed thoroughly. As a
result, we can observe Robillards concept in the socioeconomic discrepancies of different
nations mentioned in Mountains Beyond Mountains: First-world nations and third-world nations
perceive time differently. By using Robillards concept as a lens, we can understand that Farmer's
unique ability to perceive time differently based on his various roles serves his ultimate mission
in Haiti: to conquer and eliminate medical neglect.
In Mountains Beyond Mountains, narrator Tracy Kidder traces Farmers fascination and
dedication with social justice specifically in third-world country of Haiti. Farmer, saw in Haiti, a

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country others perceived and overlooked as unworthy of saving. However, he instead found hope
in a country of Haitians [that] were the underdogs of underdogs (Kidder 63); in other words, a
challenging battle in which he deemed worthy fighting for. Unlike other doctors and other
individuals with the time and money, he perceived Haitis current circumstance as an ongoing
story of a great and terrible struggle between the rich and the poor, between good and evil
(Kidder 63). Haiti, thus, was a cherished and priceless opportunity in which he could even the
playing grounds and could lend a voice to the voiceless (Kidder 74) as a doctor. Farmer
wanted to be the poors savior, to not only care for their medical needs, but embraced the
monumental challenge to solve Haitis critical social problems. Yet to best cater and care to his
Haitians patients needs, he needed to understand Haiti as a nation. Thus, he had to set aside his
future plan for Haiti as a doctor and humanitarian. Instead, he first focused to immerse himself in
the past of Haiti as an anthropologist in its intricate history of political unrest and unstable
independence free of imperialism, the vibrant culture of Haitian art and music, its intriguing
religion involving voodoo and liberation theology, as well as the Haitian tongue of Creole.
Gaining such hands-on experience of Haiti gave Farmer the ultimate comprehension and
judgment into his role as a doctor for those Haitians who needed salvation the most.
Through Robillards concept, we can understand how certain social classes have the
fortune to pursue greater opportunities due to the differences in the way we perceive time.
Farmer is aware that because lower socioeconomic classes are a disadvantage, he has to value
time as a Haitian in order to maximize his ability to save his patients. One day on the way back
to Cange to save patients, Farmers companion Ophelia expresses a desire to drink diet Coke.
Farmer simply responds to her, We dont have time. We cant do it (Kidder 97). Although the
actual context of the situation is insignificant, Farmer and Ophelias conversation highlights the

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difference in how the two individuals perceive time. Ophelia, in the moment, was planning out
the day ahead of her: she had to endure the hot walks in Cange, but could look forward to the
Diet Coke that would refresh her. Ophelia believes they have time to stop at a supermarket
because she is used to living in a state of assurance. In other words, she doesnt have to worry
about any pressing problems in the current moment because her basic needs such as access to
shelter and food are always taken care of. Stability is a familiar and fundamental aspect of her
life that gives her the confidence to ask Farmer in a dire situation if they could stop for a diet
Coke.
Robillard mentioned a middle-class value in her piece which Ophelia embodied in this
scene, which was delayed gratification. Robillard conveys that because the middle class can
afford to live in a state of assurance within the present day, they have the privilege of only
needing to focus on the future. Robillard reasons that having that luxury of time gives students
the purpose and expectation to build towards that successful future. Therefore, it is ingrained in
students minds to value time as for setting goals and planning accordingly for the future, just as
Ophelia has carefully planned out the distant future for herself. Furthermore, Robillard
comments because the middle class identifies time as for the future, they come to rely on the
promise of being rewarded for the future.
Farmer, on the other hand, embodies how the working class values time. Time in
Farmers perspective is absolutely precious, whereas time is leisure for Ophelia. Ophelia, similar
to composition professors, fail to grasp and take for granted how time is not a universal concept
-- rather it is a subjective abstract that is perceived differently by the virtue of socioeconomic
circumstances. Just as some composition professors mistakenly assume all first year students to
uphold middle class values such as delayed gratification, Ophelia also assumes that Haitians

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value time the same way she does as an individual of middle class status. She failed to
acknowledge that time is experienced differently, and that for Haitians, time is a privilege that
cannot be wasted for leisure purposes. As an individual coming from first-world country, Ophelia
is used to luxury of being able to delay her problems, procrastinate, and worry about her
problems in the future. Furthermore, she has the privilege of choices, and thus can alter her
future plans. In other words, she can always go get a Diet Coke later in the day, the next day, or
whenever she feels like it. She does not depend on time, but rather she has the ability and luxury
to control time as she pleases.
But this is most certainly not the case in a third-world country like Haiti, where time is
not flexible. When Farmer says no to Ophelia, he speaks on behalf of the Haitians that he wants
to save. Those Haitians, who live in poverty in all aspects, are similar to the working class. Their
lives are full of adversities and trouble, and there isnt structure nor security in their lifestyle.
Their lives are full of questions: Will they live the next day? How will they find shelter? Is there
enough water to go around? These questions embody a life-or-death situation in the current
moment, and thus necessitates the working class to perceive time in the present moment.
Furthermore, because individuals of third-world nations do not possess the privilege of stability
and choices, they only have a limited influence over time. Farmer, with the ability to perceive
time as if he were a Haitian, is aware of the repercussions if he allowed Ophelia to grab and
enjoy the Diet Coke: He would waste time. In the time Ophelia grabbed and enjoyed her drink, a
life is at stake.
Therefore, above all, the working class treasures and values the concept of closure,
because it provides some sense of stability in their ever changing lives. Farmer insinuates to
Ophelia when he rejects her suggestion that he must provide that closure for his patients. He

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understands, unlike Ophelia, the Haitians dont have the luxury to wait for him. The present is
very unstable in the eyes of Haitians, and Farmer has to take advantage of the present to make it
work in his favor-- in order to cure his patients. For his patients, he knows that every second
counts. Therefore, Farmer is always competing in a race against time, and wants to beat it. If he
allows himself to delay time, he doesnt have the opportunity to be the hero he wants to be for
Haiti.
Farmer has the luxury of perceiving time as all three perspectives of the past, present, and
the future. However, part of his purpose to empathize with patients mental and physical state,
necessitates Farmer to lean towards the past the most: Patients, it seemed, formed not just a
calendar.but a large mnemonic structure.small quirks-- hed remember--were like an
index to the symptoms...the remedies for thousands of ailments (Kidder 113). As a doctor, his
medical memory of his patients condition and their medical record shapes the way he interacts
with his patients. For Farmer, there is a lot of pain thinking about the patients in the past who he
didnt have a chance to save. For example, he kept a very detailed documentation of the young
peasant man of Chouchou. For him, it serves as motivation to build hope and fund enough
money so he could help Haitians receive what he considered as birthrights. He knew that just
receiving the basic care, attention , and simple medicine could have prevented deaths.
Remembering all the vivid details of his patients, even their facial expressions of different
emotions, serves to remind Farmer of what he needs to accomplish and also shapes his vision for
Haiti.
As an aspiring doctor and humanitarian, Farmer strived to build a community that is free
of the misery he first observed upon arriving in Haiti. Specifically, his vision called for the
creation of what he called a first line of defenses out in the communities...vaccination

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programs, give classes on health...family planning-- to reduce local maternal morality (90).
He developed a comprehensive plan of how he can uplift life and provide opportunity for the
impoverished Haitian communities, by providing basic human needs that he deemed everyone is
worthy of. In other words, Farmers role as a doctor, humanitarian, and social entrepreneur
obliges him to value time as for the future, through delayed gratification. Similar to Robillard,
whose profession as an English professor necessitates her to uphold the middle-class values,
Farmer embodies middle-class values for his career. Coming from a first-world nation, he had
the resources and skills necessary to build a better future for Haiti. He took the time to efficiently
develop big plans of first line of defenses to medical policies, unlike other doctors who have not
taken the same effort nor the time to develop these opportunities for Haitians. He has devoted
himself in saving the people of Haitians, and making the firm and early-on decision to put others
before himself. He delayed other life opportunities and rewards, such as starting a family,
because of his commitment to Haitians. Unlike those of third-world nations, they dont have the
same luxury to delay time. By embodying middle-class values such as delayed gratification and
creating visions, Farmer was working towards his ultimate goal of creating sustainability in
Haiti. Farmer hoped that he would have a lasting impression on the Haitians, and through his
work, he wants to create a lasting and stable structure that Haitians can look forward to as
comfort.
One of the biggest distinctions in how social classes perceive time is the value they place
in time. Those of the upper echelons have greater control and influence over their life prospects,
by the virtue of having access to choices. What we choose to do with time affects the way we
value our time. In the second that an individual can make progress, another individual in the
same second can choose to do anything. It comes down to how we value time, and if its worth

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our time to accomplish something. In Robillards piece, she critiques the academia for
emphasizing and promoting specifically middle-class values, which disregards the needs of the
nontraditional first-year student. That is to say, composition professors are devaluing the working
class students by not including the values and ideals they grew up in the curriculum. Similarly,
Farmer finds that individuals of lower socioeconomic status are valued less than those of higher
socioeconomic status. In the medical field of treating third-world countries, it is often a highly
disregarded area. Farmer remarks, And if it takes five-hour treks or giving patients milk...then
do it. We can spend sixty-eight thousand dollars per TB patient in New York City, but if you start
giving watches or radios to patients here, suddenly the international health community jumps on
you for creating nonsustainable projects (Kidder 42). He implies because those individuals
vulnerable to life-threatening diseases by the virtue of living in a third-world nation, theyre
expected to die. Therefore, he alludes to the fact that theyre not worth the time to save, and
furthermore theyre seen as a waste of money. Farmer highlights a critical issue of the medical
field and health community when comparing patients of different socioeconomic worlds: Their
lives are valued differently; those of first-world countries are somehow more deserving of worldclass medical treatments, while those of third-world countries are better left to die in the dirt.
But Farmer, who can value time from different socioeconomic perspectives, values
Haitians lives as much as he would value a patient from Boston. This derives from his hands-on
experiences in Haiti with patients; he could see and reason how his time is well spent in the
third-world nation that has personally impacted and influenced him to undertake a global, social
justice campaign of providing medical care. Unlike other doctors who come to Haiti for a
fleeting glimpse, Farmer has taken the time to immerse himself in all that the country offers: its
beauty, misery, and flaws through the different perspectives of time. For the same reason, it

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explains why Farmer is willing to trek for five hours in order to see a patient one-on-one and
give him a treatment that exceeds the medical aspect. Farmer will constantly check up and
provide his patients with basic and trivial needs such as aspirin, glasses, or a radio. For him, it is
the power of delayed gratification; by investing his time in one patient, he is planting a seed that
is worthy of growth. By constantly nurturing his patients with basic necessities, he will one day
see those patients flourish. Farmer, in this method, has helped countless patients become cured
free of tuberculosis. Therefore, Farmer knows from his experience that for the rest of the medical
and health community, they should extend the same care to Haitians. Just as Robillard advocates
for composition professors to incorporate more of personal narratives to empower and engage
students (especially those of lower socioeconomic status) more in the classroom environment, he
encourages the same concept but on a wider scale. His simple reasoning is that we are all humans
despite our socioeconomic statuses- and simply by the virtue of being humans, our lives should
all be valued the same time and effort-wise. This quality and reasoning of Farmer, which results
from his ability to perceive time in different socioeconomic perspectives, has fueled his
undeniable devotion to providing basic health care for Haitians.
Through Robillards concept of how time is perceived differently based on social classes,
we come to understand that Paul Farmers intricate character entails him to perceive time
through the past as well as the future, instead of in just one direction. For his patients, he
perceives time as the past and the present, while for his career as a doctor, he perceives time as
the future. He ensures that nothing falls through the small cracks, in ensuring every patient
receives the basic necessities and individual care they require to get by everyday. Yet at the same,
he is constantly looking at the bigger, overarching puzzle: creating long-lasting, sustainable
communities and creating health policies to bring in more cost-effective medical treatments so

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Haitians may thrive. These roles he undertakes provide him the greatest potential to understand
the patients needs, and develop strategies to implement medical solutions for the Haitians.
Furthermore, his ability to perceive time through various socioeconomic outlooks enables him to
see the value of all patients lives no matter their socioeconomic statuses, and see the worth in
saving them against all odds and obstacles. In all these purposes in which he embodies
Robillards concept of time, Farmer is ultimately trying to close a gap. Farmer, in his eyes,
observes the world as an unbalanced scale of justice, one in which individuals of third-world
nations are valued less than those of first-world nations. His ultimate dream is to balance out the
injustice, and to even out the playing ground of providing those of lower socioeconomic
statuses the the same opportunity to fundamental rights that the privileged world enjoys. In
trying to balance out the scale, Farmer strives to close the gap by providing basic healthcare to
individuals of third-world nations that need it the most-- who are truly just as worthy of having
access to healthcare as individuals of first-world nations.

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Works Cited
Bizup, Joseph. "BEAM: A rhetorical vocabulary for teaching research-based writing."
Rhetoric Review 27.1 (2008): 72-86.
Robillard, Amy E. "It's time for class: Toward a more complex pedagogy of narrative."
College English 66.1 (2003): 74-92.