Difference between revisions of "EAC234 Assignment 1 - It's A Good Life - Chris Baynton"
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*Surrounded by a “vast, endless, gray nothingness… floating like a soul” | *Surrounded by a “vast, endless, gray nothingness… floating like a soul” | ||
*No one knows whether or not Anthony had taken it someplace else, or had destroyed the world around them, leaving only the village | *No one knows whether or not Anthony had taken it someplace else, or had destroyed the world around them, leaving only the village | ||
| − | *Evidence in the story (the word sun is in quotations) suggests that they are not on Earth at all, but floating in space | + | *Evidence in the story (the word sun is in quotations) suggests that they are not on Earth at all, but floating in space or some void |
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== MAJOR CHARACTERS == | == MAJOR CHARACTERS == | ||
Revision as of 14:57, 24 February 2007
Contents
GENERAL
It’s A Good Life is a short story by Jerome Bixby about a young boy with special powers. This boy, Anthony is terrorizing the residents of his small town by reading their thoughts. This causes everyone to maintain a façade of happiness and cheerful thoughts, when they are actually living in constant fear.
Written in 1953, it was first published in the book Star Science Fiction Stories No.2. This story also appears in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame; it is a collection of the greatest science fiction stories of all time as voted by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America.
PLOT SUMMARY
SETTING
Peaksville, Ohio
- Population: 46
- Surrounded by a “vast, endless, gray nothingness… floating like a soul”
- No one knows whether or not Anthony had taken it someplace else, or had destroyed the world around them, leaving only the village
- Evidence in the story (the word sun is in quotations) suggests that they are not on Earth at all, but floating in space or some void
MAJOR CHARACTERS
Anthony Fremont
- The main character of the story
- He is three years old, but acts much older than he is
- Depicted as casting an “odd shadow” and has a “purple gaze”
- Has near-omnipotent powers which allow him to manipulate objects, people and animals around him through telekinesis
THEMES
SCI-FI ELEMENTS
RELATED TOPICS
This story was turned into an episode for the popular science-fiction television series, The Twilight Zone.
A sequel to this story was also made into an episode entitled, "It's Still a Good Life", about a grown-up Anthony who is still terrorizing Peaksville, while his daughter, Audrey starts to exhibit the identical powers of her father.
Another version of this story appears in the popular Simpsons Halloween special, Treehouse of Horror II. The segment entitled "The Bart Zone", has Bart in the role of Anthony terrorizing the residents of Springfield with his mind.
Ironically, Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, also appears in "It’s a Good Life" in the movie version of The Twilight Zone.
