It's a Good Life
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| Author | Jerome Bixby |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror, Science fiction short story |
| Released in | Star Science Fiction Stories No.2 |
| Publication type | Anthology |
| Publisher | Ballantine books |
| Media Type | Print (Paperback) |
| Released | 1953 |
"It's a Good Life" is a short story by Jerome Bixby, written in 1953. In 1970 it was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the 20 finest science fiction stories ever written. The story was first published in Star Science Fiction Stories No.2.
[edit] Plot summary
Anthony Fremont is a three-year-old boy vaguely described as having an "odd shadow" and a "wet purple gaze". He lives in the town of Peaksville, Ohio, outside of which is nothingness, the town having been separated from the rest of Earth soon after Anthony was born. Nobody knows whether Anthony transported Peaksville somewhere or whether the rest of the world (or for that matter, the universe) was destroyed and only the town remains.
There is no electricity, and the residents have to make their own things and grow their own food, which is difficult because Anthony controls the weather. They also have to satisfy the child's every whim, or run the risk of displeasing him and being turned into some horrible monstrosity. Nobody is safe from Anthony, not even his own family, although they can sometimes influence him slightly; after a "cheerful" suggestion from his father, Anthony begins burying his victims via a process similar to telekinesis in a the cornfield behind their home after he has finished with them.
Even when Anthony tries to help other people, being a child, he usually makes things worse than before. Therefore, no one wants to give him a reason to change anything, and everyone pretends to be happy and content at all times, no matter how bad things really are. Anthony passes his time manipulating animals with his mind, for example making a rat eat itself from the tail up, or building up a pleasant shady grove designed to suit the simple desires of the animals, since he likes their happy and uncomplicated thoughts of satisfaction.
The story mostly takes place during a surprise birthday party for the Fremont's neighbor, Dan Hollis. The residents take turns passing around certain objects, like books, music or furniture, since they cannot acquire anything new from the outside world anymore. Dan receives a Perry Como record for his birthday and wants to play it, but Anthony does not like singing. Dan gets drunk and starts singing "You Are My Sunshine". As a result, Anthony turns Dan into some sort of horrific entity before "thinking" him away into the cornfield. The next morning he makes it snow, which kills half of the crops.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The story was turned into "It's a Good Life", an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone, which subsequently served as inspiration for one of the segments in Twilight Zone: The Movie decades later. A sequel to the story was made in the latest remake of the Twilight Zone called It's Still a Good Life, about a grown-up Anthony still terrorizing Peaksville and his daughter who starts exhibiting his powers.
[edit] Trivia
- The story has been parodied in an episode of the animated Cartoon Network show Johnny Bravo, and in one of the annual "non-canon" Halloween episodes of the Fox Network's animated series The Simpsons.
- In Star Trek: The Original Series, the episode "Charlie X" is similar to this story.
- During the climax of the comic series Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius, Ween corners the malevolent Director of the mysterious Agency and threatens that if he crosses Ween again, "I'll wish you away into the fucking cornfield."
