The Butterfly Effect In Pay It Forward

In perspective, every action has an equally strong reaction. An individual assists another individual, who then aids and influences another person, thus creating a chain reaction. Without doubt, everyone would like to see the butterfly effect play out in society; however, not many individuals are up for the challenge. Not a lot of people think this way, however a simple act could change the world. No matter how small or large the event is, the aftermath of it can be felt all around the world. This idea is presented in the movie, Pay It Forward. In the movie Pay It Forward, a seventh grade social studies teacher assigns a life-altering project that results in a drug addicts second chance on life, the reunion of a family, and a small social
Grace, also suffers from alcohol addiction. The two haven’t spoke to each other for three years until Arlene decided to continue the butterfly effect and pay it forward to her mom. Arlene seeks out her mother, Grace, who lives in her car, to forgive her for “almost taking (her) to the streets” (Pay It Forward). Arlene allows Grace to start seeing Trevor, under the condition that she must be sober even if it's only for two hours. The only requirement for this is that Grace helps three other people, thus continuing the butterfly effect. This allowed Grace to reconnect with her grandson who she hasn't seen in many years. Have Mr. Simonet not assign his project, Trevor would have never helped his mother, who wouldn’t have helped her mother, Grace. This would of resulted in a broken relationship within the
One by one, each small event ends up adding up to one colossal event. Similarly, in the movie Pay It Forward one single action led up to multiple massive effects. The kindness and helpfulness created by the Pay It Forward movement spread from one person to thousands of others. In Pay It Forward, a seventh grade social studies teacher, Mr. Simonet, assigns a project for his class that requires them to think of an idea that can change the world they live in. Trevor's idea was to help three individuals who then must help three other individuals and so on. Thus creating a butterfly effect. Trevor helped a homeless man get another shot at life, who then helped stop a woman from killing herself. Trevor also helped his mother, Arlene, to stop her battle with alcohol addiction and raising her self-acceptance and self-confidence, after her divorce with her abusive husband Ricky. Arlene went on to forgive her mother, which then allowed Grace to reunite with her family and be happy again. Finally, Mr. Simonet's life changing event pushed Trevor to want to help to change the world he lived in. Trevor thus came up with the idea of Pay It Forward. Trevor’s good deeds left an impact on thousands of people even though he didn’t know about it. This represents the fact that even the smallest act of kindness, can have a huge impact on a person's