A Catholic Analysis of Mountains Beyond Mountains Anonymous 11th Grade

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder chronicles the humanitarian work of Doctor Paul Farmer. Throughout, Farmer shows exemplary respect for the dignity of people and the basic rights that all humans deserve. In a consumerist society in which people obsess over material possessions, Paul Farmer diverges from the norm by embracing a simple life focused on helping others. He never accepts compensation for his work. The account portrays Doctor Farmer as he travels the world and treats patients with diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. He connects with everyone that he works with; in his spirit of remarkable compassion, he does not acknowledge the vast differences that he has with these people.

The attitude of equality that Farmer possesses is admirable, because people often gravitate toward people that are similar to them. Nonetheless, there are certain rights that everyone deserves from birth as humans. When people are stripped of these rights, such action contradicts the Catholic Social Teaching regarding the rights and responsibilities of all people. Paul Farmer said, “Clean water and health care and schools and food and tin roofs and cement floors, all of these things should constitute a set of basics that people...