What does 'pay it forward' mean?
It means doing something for somebody which they can't do themselves. My character, Trevor, devises a scheme whereby you do that three times and the people you help each do it three times, then it gets bigger. It goes from three to nine to 27 and on and on and on.
Describe Trevor's relationship with his teacher, Eugene?
Eugene stirs something in Trevor that only a person like Eugene could. He has a key to unlocking what Trevor has inside. He inspires Trevor to come up with 'pay it forward'. It's something Trevor can finally believe in, something he thinks will make his own life better. Trevor has never had a teacher like Eugene. He's a teacher that doesn't just stand in front of the class and say "OK class, open your books to page one; we're going to do the review questions at the bottom." He actually talks to the class from his heart. He tells them what social studies is actually about - it's about you and the world.
And how does Trevor view Arlene, his alcoholic mother?
Trevor's mom works a lot and has some habits which infringe on her ability to take care of him, so he ends up taking care of himself most of the time. He loves her and wants her to overcome her problems, but he knows it's something she can't do by herself. If she could, she would have done it by now.
Read our review of "Pay It Forward".
