It's a Good Life

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"It's a Good Life"
Author Jerome Bixby
Country Flag of the United States USA
Language English
Genre(s) Horror, Science fiction short story
Published in Star Science Fiction Stories No.2
Publication type Anthology
Publisher Ballantine Books
Media type Print (Paperback)
Publication date 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.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

Anthony Fremont is a three-year-old child with near-godlike powers. Anthony can warp or alter reality at his own whim, to an apparently limitless extent. He can transform other people or objects into anything he wishes, literally think new things into being, and teleport himself and others to different places. Further, Anthony is apparently omniscient: he can telepathically hear the thoughts of humans and animals, and seems to be aware of everything. Anthony can actually hear the thoughts of anyone no matter where they are, though he tends to only pay attention to the people in his immediate vicinity. He may or may not be human-looking—vague descriptions of the boy refer to him as having an "odd shadow" and a "bright, wet, purple gaze;" the obstetrician at his birth was said to have "screamed and dropped him and tried to kill him;" and the other children are told that Anthony is a "nice goblin" but they must never go near him. Anthony's powers were present since he was born, as he was able to kill the obstetrician. He lives in the town of Peaksville, Ohio, outside of which is nothingness, the town having been separated from the rest of Earth moments 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 "smiling" suggestion from his father, Anthony uses his powers to transport the remains of his victims into the cornfield behind the Fremont home after he has finished with them.

Anthony is not specifically malevolent or evil. He is not presented as some form of demonic entity which delights in the suffering of others. However, he is essentially a God-like being with the mind and morality of child who always gets what he wants. As such, he sometimes kills animals similar to a child playing with toys, or acts out simple revenge by killing humans who displease him. Compounding the suffering of the population of Peaksville is that Anthony might not like not only what they do, but just what they consciously think. Further, it seems that Anthony even has the power to revive the dead if he so chooses (though he apparently only did this once).

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 thus 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 newly-discovered Perry Como record for his birthday and wants to play it, but no one dares because Anthony does not like singing. Dan gets drunk and begins demanding that they sing, first "Happy Birthday" and then "You Are My Sunshine." Angrily he turns on Anthony's parents, crying, "You had to go and have him," then he defiantly continues to sing as Anthony appears in the room. Anthony decides Dan is a "bad man" and turns him into some sort of horrific entity before "thinking" him into a deep grave in the cornfield. The next day he makes it snow, which "kill[s] off half the crops--but it was a good day."

[edit] TV and 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 (2002-2003) 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, in one of the three "The Zone Where Normal Things Don't Happen Very Often" episodes.
  • In the second "Treehouse of Horror" special on The Simpsons where Bart has amazing mental powers and anyone who tries to hurt him get turned into a horrible creature. The actress who voices Bart, Nancy Cartwright, appears in the "Good Life" segment of the Twilight Zone movie as Anthony's sister, who rebels against and thus is transported to a cartoon playing on the TV, where she is eaten by a cartoon dragon.
  • 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."
  • Stephen King makes references to the story in The Plant and Firestarter, the latter having a somewhat similar theme during some of the flashbacks of the story. His novel The Regulators also has a similar premise; it may or may not have been influenced by the story.
  • The episode "I Can't Stan You" of the Fox show American Dad parodies this story, when Stan uses his CIA connections to send neighbors who dislike him to the "Cornfield Motel".
  • In an apparent tribute to the story, people who violate the terms of use for Second Life are sometimes teleported to The Corn Field. [1]
  • In an episode of The Emperor's New School entitled "Mud", which parodies a few other episodes of The Twilight Zone, Kuzco has dream in which Kronk possesses Anthony Freemont style powers. Kronk wishes Guaka away to the 'llama meadow', and alters things to suit his own desires. Eventually, Kuzco rebels against him in a manner similar to Dan Hollis, and is turned into a giant spinach puff.

[edit] See also