Pay it Forward Theme in the Catholic Social Teaching

In the movie Pay It Forward, there are many great examples of good morals that we could and should use every day in our lives. More specifically, there are multiple themes of Catholic Social teaching displayed throughout the film. Though all of these are significant, the most prominent theme can be said to be the Call to Family, Community and Participation. When Mr. Simonet presents the class with a vague and open ended assignment of making the world a better place, Trevor, an attentive and inspired student, sees it as a challenge and a duty that he is required to fill. He begins his search for a way that he can change the world for the better. This sparks the beginning of an amazing movement that this boy creates. Trevor begins to try helping people around him. He forms an idea that each person in the world should help three people, obligating each of these three people to help an additional three people. The concept sets grounds for a rapid adoption by many people, meaning that mass amounts of people would be receiving help from others in one way or another. He brings a homeless man into the house, only for his distraught mother to kick the man out. Later she finds out that he simply wanted help in his life and was willing to help others in return. Trevor also tries to help out his friend, Adam, who continuously gets bullied and beat up by other kids at school. It is acts such as this that truly change other people's lives, and also, ultimately, took Trevor's life. While trying to stop bullies from hurting Adam, one of the bullies pulls out a knife and stabs Trevor, later killing him. This shows the absolute dedication that Trevor had to his community. The movement continued on and started to spread more and more, causing people across the nation to be rewarded by random acts of kindness, and to spread these acts further. Trevor truly demonstrated what it means to seek the common good and unmitigated well-being of everyone.

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