"It's a ''Good'' Life" is a short story by American writer
Jerome Bixby
Drexel Jerome Lewis Bixby (January 11, 1923 – April 28, 1998) was an American short-story writer and scriptwriter. He wrote the 1953 story " It's a Good Life", which was the basis of a 1961 episode of ''The Twilight Zone'' and was included ...
, written in 1953. In 1970, the
Science Fiction Writers of America
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...
selected it for ''
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One'', as one of the 20 best
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
in
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
published prior to the
Nebula Award
The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...
. The story was first published in ''
Star Science Fiction Stories No.2''. The story was adapted in 1961 into
an episode of ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
''.
Plot summary
Anthony Fremont is a three-year-old boy with near-godlike powers: he can transform other people or objects into anything he wishes, think new things into being,
teleport himself and others where he wishes,
read the minds of people and animals and even
revive the dead. His appearance is never completely described: the story mentions his "odd shadow" and "bright, wet, purple gaze", and the obstetrician at his birth was said to have "screamed and dropped him and tried to kill him". The town's children are told that Anthony is a "nice goblin", but they must never go near him.
Anthony's powers were present at birth, as he was able to kill the obstetrician and then, instinctively, separate his birthplace, the town of Peaksville,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, from the rest of Earth moments after he was born. Nobody knows whether Anthony transported Peaksville somewhere or whether the rest of the world 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; the latter is somewhat difficult as Anthony changes the weather according to his whims. The adults must satisfy Anthony's every whim, or risk displeasing him. 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 sends the remains of his victims into graves in the family cornfield, after he has finished with them.
As Anthony can read minds, the town's population must not only act content with the situation when near him, but also think they are happy at all times. However, the story does not present Anthony as malevolent or evil; he is simply a three-year-old boy with any young child's limited grasp of the world, yet with god-like powers. Even his sincere attempts to help those in need often go horribly awry, which is why everyone acts as if everything is "good" no matter what – any change Anthony makes could be much worse. Since Anthony can act immediately on any whim, those he dislikes can come to a quick and nasty end, even if he regrets it later, and no one dares suggest he undo what he has done, since the results could be worse still.
The story mostly takes place during a surprise birthday party for the Fremonts' 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. Dan receives a newly discovered
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...
record for his birthday and wants to play it right away, but as Anthony does not like singing, the others advise him to wait until he gets home. Dan gets drunk and begins demanding that they sing, first "
Happy Birthday" and then "
You Are My Sunshine
"You Are My Sunshine" is a song published by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell on January 30, 1940. According to Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the song has been recorded by over 350 artists and translated into 30 languages.
In 1977, the Louis ...
". 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 something horrific, "something like nothing anyone would have believed possible", before "thinking" him deep into the cornfield.
Because Anthony's Aunt Amy carelessly complained about the heat earlier, the next day Anthony makes it snow, which "killed off half the crops – but it was a ''good'' day".
Reception
Floyd C. Gale
''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edit ...
in 1961 called the story a "super-duper topnotcher".
In 1986, it was included in the anthology
''Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 15'' as one of the best science fiction short stories of 1953.
In 2004, the story was a finalist for the 1954
Retro-Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
Adaptations
*
"It's a Good Life" (''The Twilight Zone''), a 1961 episode of the 1959 TV series
*
"It's a Good Life", the third segment; a remake of the ''Twilight Zone'' episode "It's a Good Life" in ''
Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (1983). In this version, Anthony (no last name given) is depicted as eight (he is three in the original story and six in the original episode). He uses his powers to cater to himself and his "family", who are revealed to be random people that he has manipulated and held against their will. Anthony's real sister is crippled and has no mouth because she made Anthony mad. His real parents wanted to "send Anthony away" and are now simply gone. This depiction of Anthony is a much more sympathetic and tragic character who only wants people not to be afraid of him. He also is shown to love cartoons, making it the only thing everyone watches with televisions in every room in the house. According to Anthony "anything can happen in cartoons" and that he himself "can do anything. ANYthing!"
* "
Bart's Nightmare
''The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare'' is a 1992 video game developed by United States, American company Sculptured Software based on the television show ''The Simpsons''. The game, split into two parts, follows Bart on the street, trying to find his ...
– "
Treehouse of Horror II
"Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of the The Simpsons (season 3), third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States on October 31 ...
" – ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' (1991)
* "
It's Still a Good Life
"It's Still a Good Life" is the thirty-first episode of the The Twilight Zone (2002 TV series), 2002 revival television series of ''The Twilight Zone''. The episode was first broadcast on February 19, 2003, on UPN. It is a sequel to the original s ...
", the 31st episode of
''The Twilight Zone'' (2002 TV series) which acts as a sequel to the episode in the 1959 TV series, with
Bill Mumy
Charles William Mumy Jr. (; born February 1, 1954) is an American actor, writer, and musician and a figure in the science-fiction community/comic book fandom. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor, which included television appeara ...
and
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomin ...
reprising roles from the original episode.
*
"Johnny Real Good", from the 12th episode of the first season of ''
Johnny Bravo
''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, which aired from ...
'' which stands more as a parody of the Twilight Zone episode. Johnny must babysit a boy with god-like powers who constantly sends him to a cornfield for thinking bad thoughts.
See also
*''
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964
''The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964'' is a 1970 anthology of English language science fiction short stories, edited by Robert Silverberg. Author Lester del Rey said that "it even lives up to its subtitle", referring t ...
'', an anthology of the greatest science fiction short stories prior to 1965, as judged by the
Science Fiction Writers of America
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:It's A Good Life
1953 short stories
American short stories
Fiction about telepathy
Horror short stories
Ohio in fiction
Science fiction short stories