Webquest - Student Artifact Example

The Butterfly Circus

Topic - Overcoming Adversity

Main Idea - What you think determines who you are

The Butterfly Circus is a short film about a man born with no arms and no legs as he joins a circus and discovers his own inner-beauty.  At the beginning of the film, the man with no arms no legs, is ashamed of himself and who he is.  He allows people to laugh at and make fun of him in a carnival booth.  He believes them when they tell him he is "the man god turned his back upon."  After joining the Butterfly Circus, the man develops a close friendship with the ringmaster and the other members of the circus.  The man discovers that the other members of the circus also have overcome difficult pasts.  Even after learning this, the man still feels that his disability is just too severe and that he could never be a valued member of the circus like everyone else.  The ringmaster tells him that he has an advantage over the other circus members because, "the greater the struggle, the greater the triumph."  The man seems puzzled by this and does not know what to think.  

One day, when the circus members are swimming in a river, the man gets left on his own.  He is forced to try to cross a log over the river when he falls down.  After a struggle, the man is able to pick himself up and begins walking across the log.  After falling off the log, the man discovers that he can swim, despite not having arms or legs.  Once the other members of the circus discover him, everyone is happy that the man finally found one of his talents.  After this, the man begins to believe in himself.  He appears happy and joyful about his new independence.  

In the final scene of the film, the man becomes the main attraction as he had been at the carnival in the beginning of the film.  Unlike the beginning of the film, the man has a new confidence in himself and is no longer ashamed.  He ends up completing a high dive into a tiny pool of water, that no average sized person could ever complete.  The man is applauded for his talent and children and adults look up to him for his courage and bravery.  By believing in himself and having others believe in him, the man was able to go from being a freak show attraction, to the main event in a famous circus.