Once Upon A Time
A lone dark night rolls over the quaint town of Erie Pennsylvania. Alone Jim Bhourly sits in his basement brooding over the day’s mishaps and downfalls. The bastards in middle management fired him from the plant. He felt this was the year where everything would actually go right for him; work, relationships, money, everything. However it wasn’t shaping up to be one of those years for Jim. Instead it seemed like the beginning of yet another year of misery.
Thus far his girlfriend, or who he perceived to be his girlfriend, Cameo had
dumped him, quite literally. Cameo was driving Jim home from work for what
seemed to her as the millionth time since she had begun working next to Jim
at the plant 5 months ago. She desperately wanted to ask him why he hadn’t
sold that shitbox of a truck yet. However, she didn’t dare say a word
about it to Jim, she wished not to make a bad impression being that she was
still new at the factory. But when Jim started to go about his usual ramblings
on whatever subject that crossed his mind, Cameo decided she had had enough,
“Why can’t we just have one drive in silence!?” Jim answered
sheepishly, “I’m sorry, I would hate for you to be angry at me.
I’m really sorry” Cameo, stricken by Jim’s childlike mannerisms
told him, “No don’t apologize, it’s my fault. I had a bad
day and I guess I was just looking for someone to lash out on.” An awkward
silence followed which was then interrupted by the obscene sounds of Jim moving
about in his pleathrette seat. Cameo thought nothing of Jim’s movements
until she felt his presence on her neck. He began to kiss the nape of her
neck, while saying, “I’m sorry, I can’t believe that was
our first fight.” Disgusted and confused by all of what was happening,
Cameo slammed on the brakes of the car sending Jim tumbling forward into the
dash. She screamed at him, “I don’t know who you think you are,
or what you think we are, but there is no “us”! Get out! I don’t
even like you as a person! Just get out!” With that Jim got out of the
car and closed the door. No sooner had he done so did Cameo peel out in a
U-turn and left Jim in a cloud of dust.
Jim took a look around at the damp coldness. He was at least
twenty-five miles from home and nothing to carry him there but the shoes on
his feet. As Jim watched the taillights of Cameo’s car disappear in
the darkness he quickly was overcome by a wealth of emotions. He began to
realize that he had never held down a real relationship with a woman he found
appealing and just now he had once again screwed up a possible companionship.
He then realized how lonely he was; indeed he had no real friends, no pets,
and no family. He began to believe he was truly destined to be alone in the
world. These sad feelings continually ran through his head, fermenting, eventually
causing Jim to break down and cry. His last shred of hope for something better
was obliterated by Cameo and thus Jim realized he had nothing further to live
for. Suicide crossed Jim’s mind more than a few times so far in his
life. He never acted on it though simply because he always felt something
better would happen the next day. However, the day’s events combined
with Jim’s new found realizations finally gave the substantiation Jim
needed to go ahead with ending his life.
Jim decided the optimal way for him to go out would be painless
in manner, indeed the opposite approach that governed his life. Thus Jim decided
that overdosing on pills would fulfill this wish. So as the disenchanted,
mentally decrepit man walked home in the darkness of his life, he began doing
the morbid calculations of death.
When Jim finally arrived at his cabin on the outskirts of nowhere,
he opened the door as usual to find nothing welcoming his return. Jim marched
towards his bathroom and picked as many of the small containers as he could
off the shelves and returned to his living room. He began to intricately lay
out the pills he deemed to be the most detrimental to life when yet another
flood of emotions took over his mind. This time another effect came to fruition
though, anger.
Jim began to become enraged at all that lay around him. He thought why should he be the one who loses in life. “Why should I take my own life after others have already taken it from me?” he thought, “Others should pay for their injustices towards me.” Jim swiped the pills off the table and screamed, “Vengeance will be mine!” With this assertion Jim ran to his office and began work on what he believed would be the tool to help him achieve victory.
As Jim sat in his chair he furiously rolled ideas around in his head about
what would be the best course of action to implement his malevolent feelings.
Indeed he wanted to make a huge impression on the world that had shunned him
for so long. However, his lack of engineering talent and basic mathematical
skills severely limited Jim’s thought process. He didn’t know
where to begin, what to create or even what he wanted. His frustration only
furthered his anger as he began to become violent.
Driven by animalistic, almost predatory feelings, Jim ran around his house
destroying anything he could find that reminded him of the outside world.
No mark of civil society was left undamaged, his TV, radio, even news periodicals
suffered the wrath of Jim’s anger. When he finally settled down again
Jim noticed at his feet lay a pocket watch, well what was left of a pocket
watch. His tantrum has destroyed the casing of the watch, which subsequently
caused the mechanical entrails to spill out. Jim stared at it, for he wasn’t
quite sure where the watch had come from. He’d never seen it before
tonight. His curiosity piqued, Jim collected the parts of the watch and returned
to his dilapidated workbench. He studied the many fine working intricacies
scattered about the table. Suddenly it dawned on him that the previous owner
of the house was an ex-curator at the Cleveland museum. After he died he left
his personal collection of antiques and such to his children. Perhaps, Jim
thought, the children failed to find this during cleaning of the house. Maybe
his tantrum had uprooted the watch from whatever place the old man had left
it. As these ideas bounced around Jim’s head he unknowingly had already
started to reassemble the watch. He knew nothing about the technical aspects
of fixing such devices, but he thought he could as least give it a try.
Thus Jim sat for hours trying to re-assemble the delicate piece
of time wear. This activity calmed him; almost in a primal fashion. Jim sat
and worked tirelessly in trying to fix the meaningless object. Moreover, as
Jim sat, his mind finally cleared of the burden of life. His focus was complete
on the watch.
Finally, the next morning Jim believed he had fixed the watch.
He held his breath as he finished winding the time piece up. He turned the
face of the watch towards him only to be disappointed by the stagnation of
the time hands. Frustration once again consumed Jim’s being. He shook
the watch, wound it, un-wound and wound it once more. Nothing. With rage mounting
in Jim, he finally resorted to depressing the stopwatch button located on
the outside rim of the face…Success! The second hand merrily ticked
away until Jim again depressed the feature. Jim was elated at his victory
over the watch. Again and again, like a child with a new toy Jim played with
the button on the watch. Finally Jim had conquered something in his life.
Though it was a small victory, it was a victory nonetheless.
With his new prize proudly in hand Jim stepped outside to greet
the morning air. Like usual, thunderheads and blackened sky greeted him back.
Curiously, the clouds did not appear to be moving, nor was the wind blowing
leaves on his steps. Yet none of this fazed Jim as he continued to walk proudly
down the road towards town.
As he neared town Jim began to hear the normal sounds of a typical Thursday
afternoon; vehicles delivering their loads to market to be purchased by the
gossiping housewives. Jim became nervous at the sounds of judgment and began
to furiously fiddle with the watch. He rapidly worked the stopwatch feature
in his pocket as he walked. Suddenly he began to notice abrupt interruptions
in the noise emanating from town. Brief periods of silence became noticeably
loud in comparison to the normal levels of sound activity. Jim stopped walking
and stood completely still. The interruptions ceased. He began walking again
to only notice the silence again. He stopped again, this time though the silence
prevailed. Jim began thinking that it was him that was causing this chaotic
interruption in normalcy. He began getting nervous as he stood on the road
contemplating; once again he played with the watch. The interruptions resumed,
and Jim finally realized what the cause of the silence was, or rather he realized
what the source was. He pulled the watch out of his pocket and stared blankly
at the object wondering how this timepiece was causing a silence of the town.
However, before conclusions could be drawn Jim decided to enter town to see
how his watch was causing havoc.
As he entered the town, the silence was deafening. Yet Jim could
not understand why nothing in the town seemed to be moving. He sprinted to
the market in the center of town to be greeted by a phenomenal sight. Dozens
of people were standing motionless in the market, stricken, as if caught in
a perpetual photograph. Vehicles and their drivers too looked as if they were
trapped in a picture. No movements, no sounds, nothing to tell Jim that this
was indeed real. Yet he could see and touch everything he saw as if nothing
was out of the ordinary. He decided to see the effect the watch had on his
surroundings. He once again depressed the button on the watch. As if someone
had turned on a light switch, the entire town came to life in an instant.
Cars moved, people spoke; the town was once again bustling as if nothing had
happened. However, the people who Jim stood next to were startled by his sudden
appearance. They shot him looks of unease and disgust while continuing on
their chores. Although Jim was familiar with such looks, this time they seemed
to hold certain significance. For the first time in Jim’s life he felt
like an outsider, but with power. To validate his power though he needed to
test the watch again. He again depressed the button, this time with less tentativeness,
silence again; the market lay motionless.
A smile spread across Jim’s face as he realized the power
that was contained in the palm of his hand. He thought back to his futile
attempt at building a “doomsday” device and how ironic it was
that such a powerful device now was in his control.
With his newfound power over time Jim thought it pertinent to seek revenge
on those who had wronged him, beginning with his boss.
Jim began to walk towards his old job when he realized why should
he walk when he could drive. With that Jim strolled over to the nearest car
frozen in time, opened the door, pulled out the driver, who was suspended
in perpetual raga-mortis, and sat in the driver’s seat. Jim un-paused
time and took off in the stolen car towards the factory. Along the way, Jim
thought up ideas of how to best torture his boss for his misdeeds. All sorts
of schemes ran the gauntlet in Jim’s mind, from petty theft of his personal
belongings, and robbery of his safe, to even physical violence. Finally Jim
arrived at the factory and drove right up to the doors. He got out and paused
time so as not to be hassled by the patrolling security. Jim walked straight
up to the plant supervisor’s office, passing his old workstation on
the way. Moving quickly and purposefully Jim walked straight into his boss’s
office to find him sitting at his desk, speaking on the phone. Jim thought
to himself, what a pathetic fool this guy is, he has no idea about what is
going on. Jim set to work first by trashing the man’s office. Jim showed
no mercy towards the expensive artwork on the walls or the fine oak furniture.
He showed particular hatred to the chair he had been fired in by throwing
it out the window. Yet none of this seemed to quell Jim’s pent up anger
and frustration he’d been harboring over the years. He wanted to destroy
this man, as a sign that there is justice in the world. Jim dragged his former
boss to the window he had broken, chair and all. This was it Jim thought,
his moment of truth, could he actually kill a man? As he ruminated over his
current options Jim started to once again fiddle with the watch. All of a
sudden life began to course through the world again; Jim had pushed the button!
His boss came to life; he looked at Jim in disbelief. Panicking, Jim sprinted
over to the chair and gave a mighty shove. Chair and boss alike flew out the
window towards the un-giving cement below. Jim watched in disbelief as his
former boss screamed in terror as he fell.
Silence again, though this time Jim had not touched the watch. His boss was
dead on impact. Jim stared in fascination at the growing puddle of blood oozing
out from under the corpse. For whatever reason he could not drag his eyes
away from what he had done.
Then Jim realized why he was so intrigued; he enjoyed what he just did.
After all, Jim thought, his boss had killed him on the inside;
therefore he deserves to die as well. Jim knew that no other person would
understand this though; he would be seen as a cold-blooded killer and would
be treated as such by the ignorant public. He knew he had to leave the scene
of the crime before he was found out. Jim paused life and began to run back
towards his stolen car, but broke stride when he noticed Cameo. She was, as
usual, looking beautiful at her post. Jim walked over and simply started to
admire her beauty. Unfortunately his focus on Cameo distracted him from the
box in his path, Jim stumbled forward and found himself face to face with
his beauty. Faced again with an important crossroads Jim contemplated the
risks involved with acting on his feelings. Finally, Jim decided that his
powers would allow him to act on his feelings without Cameo ever knowing.
He began to passionately kiss her but with no obvious response,
Jim decided that he would take full advantage of the situation. Jim took Cameo
to the floor and began to rape her unknowing body in the most vile and disgusting
manner. All of the frustration with the opposite sex throughout Jim’s
life manifested itself into this one terrible act on an innocent woman.
After ravaging Cameo’s body Jim got up, collected himself, and returned
to the stolen car, leaving her naked body on the floor of the factory. While
driving by his boss’s corpse Jim un-paused time to see if anyone would
follow him. Success, no one was running after the car or even looking out
the broken window.
Elated, Jim began to aimlessly drive around reflecting on his
actions. Indeed his rape of Cameo and murdering his boos were acts he derived
pleasure from. Jim knew these individual acts could be replicated with the
same result, un-judged pleasure. His malevolence grew stronger.
Murderous emotions swept over Jim’s body. He felt as though
he had the powers of God, to take life as he pleased. Jim drove towards town,
specifically, the market. As he caught sight of people, Jim engaged the watch
and the town stood still again. Jim increased the speed of the car as he drove
towards large hoards of people. Like matchsticks, bodies flew over the hood
of the car and scattered around the street. Jim began to laugh at the grotesqueness
of situation he just created. He stopped the car and looked back at the death
and destruction that filled the market, a chuckle emanated from somewhere
deep inside.
Intent on appeasing the growing darkness of his soul, Jim revived
time. Horror tightly gripped those who remained alive in the square. Screams
of disbelief and confusion echoed throughout the town. Meanwhile Jim stood
idly by watching people’s reactions and becoming increasingly amused
with his manipulative powers. It was at this moment when evil consumed Jim’s
soul. He was now completely enthralled with all things malicious to human
life. In this respect, Jim now desired to reap havoc on much larger populations
of people. He desired to see suffering on scales unimaginable by any of his
contemporaries. However, to do so Jim knew he needed to gain control over
weaponry alike to that used in Japan, he needed to pay a visit to a missile
silo.
Motivated by unadulterated evil and a lust for destruction, Jim drove into
the setting sun, through the night and into the next day to a known missile
silo just north of Indiana/Ohio border. As he neared the entrance to the site,
he noticed a strong military presence guarding the gates. Rather than be hassled,
Jim once again used his power over time to avoid conflict. As he strolled
through the gate lined with barbed wire, Jim could not help but be amused
with how easy this task would be. Indeed his self-perception of being God
was growing by the second.
Jim walked around the silo, searching for the area of importance,
the control room. As Jim strolled around the labyrinth of the silo he came
upon an attractive female national guardswoman. Not held back by any conscious
now, Jim again took advantage of the woman in a way far more primal and disgusting
than his earlier rape of Cameo.
After satisfying his inhibitions Jim again nonchalantly walked away from his
victim.
Finally, as if by chance, Jim stumbled into the room directly across from
where he just raped the guardswoman. He had found the control room. Even while
paused in time the room seemed busy. Military personnel filled the room, all
caught in mid-stride. Jim smiled eerily as his sight became focused on a large
red button with “LAUNCH” written above it. He figured the missile
would be aimed at the Soviet Union, as they were the popular enemy. If for
anything Jim figured the missile would still hit some populated area and cause
chaos for hundreds of miles around.
Jim walked over and stood in front of the button. He admired the power that
lay behind the simple plastic piece, while also calculating how this power
would impact the world. His morbid math only furthered his excitement about
what he was about to undertake.
Jim sat in front of the button and placed the watch next to
him on the console. He figured in order to launch the missile and escape he
would have to be quick with the “LAUNCH” button as well as the
watch. Understanding what he needed to do, Jim reached for the missile button,
the tip of his index finger barely grazing the soft red glow. Simultaneously,
he reached for the watch but kept focus on the launch button. Suddenly, Jim
harshly brushed against the watch; he felt the piece rapidly slide towards
the edge of the console. He swung his head around to try to catch it before
it fell, but in the process depressed the launch button. He turned his attention
back to the button in time enough to hear the watch bounce off the floor.
Jim shook in horror as he observed the watch take another bounce against the
unforgiving cement. This time though Jim’s stare was frozen…the
innards of the watch crashed against the cement in a deafening silence.
Analysis of "Once Upon A Time"
“Once Upon A Time” is an extrapolation of a “Twilight Zone” episode that shares its title but is significantly different in its approach of what is considered monstrous. The short story contains many instances of the monstrous. Many of these are obvious while others are buried within the many intricacies of the story. Moreover, the examples of the monstrous in the story also reflect the ideas associated with Julia Kristeva’s “abject”, and Sigmund Freud’s “uncanny.” In this respect, the short story embodies many of the characteristics commonly associated with what is classically considered monstrous. The story also pays homage to the classic interpretation of the monstrous in respect to “margins.” Indeed “Once Upon A Time” represents an amalgamation of different conceptions of that which is monstrous.
The first noticeable representation of the monstrous in the story appears
with the setting. The initial description of the setting does set the tone
for the rest of the story. Specifically, the macabre insinuations initially
create an aura of darkness surrounding the story. Such darkness is directly
related to the perception of evil. In this respect the darkness is associated
with the nocturnal. A further and closer read of the story reveals that night
is a metaphorical cloak of the main characters’ true emotions. However,
this is only revealed later in the story when the main character, Jim, reaches
his full state of monstrousness. This is shown when the story eludes to a
minor setting change, the sun becomes apparent through the dark clouds. Indeed
Jim’s emotions becoming apparent parallel the appearance of the sun.
This parallel can also be seen as representative of Freud’s “uncanny.”
Specifically, how the weather patterns over the course of the story parallel
Jim’s emotions evoke insinuations about the idea of the doubling aspect
as well as the idea that “something which is familiar and old-established
in the mind and which has become alienated through the process repression.”
(Freud 217) The former idea is significant in its overt representation of
doubling. The weather directly parallels Jim’s emotions because it is
a metaphorical extension of his feelings. The latter idea of the uncanny also
is representative of how the weather parallels Jim’s emotions. Through
the repression of his emotions, the reader observes the skies blackened and
cloudy. As Jim’s true feelings are expressed through monstrous acts,
the sun begins to become apparent as the skies become clearer. This clarity
in the weather also provides an interesting dichotomy. Specifically, darkness
and tumultuous weather are normally associated with horror and evil; in this
story though the opposite is true. Clear skies and “good” weather
represent Jim’s malevolence. In this respect the story veers away from
what is commonly considered a monstrous setting. However, the uncanny aspect
to the setting of the story remains true; the weather patterns parallel Jim’s
emotions.
Freud’s “uncanny” also appears in the story within the powers
of Jim himself. Specifically, Jim’s growing belief throughout the story
that he is God is similar to Freud’s ideas regarding the immortality
of the doubling aspect. In this respect Freud states, “From having been
an assurance of immortality, it becomes the uncanny harbinger of death.”
(Freud 211) This assertion directly parallels the storyline; Jim’s murderous
rampages coincide with the realization that his powers will prevent any malice
towards him. Jim’s powers also can be linked with the ideals of what
is considered abjectly monstrous.
Julia Kristeva’s idea regarding the abject in respect
to corpses can be linked with the power over time Jim holds. Specifically,
Kristeva’s assertion that “The corpse, seen without God and outside
of science, is the utmost of abjection.” (Kristeva 4) In this respect,
the people Jim kills by running a car into the market square and their “matchstick”-like
characterization is similar to that which Kristeva considers abject for the
reader. Moreover, when Jim un-pauses time after running through the square,
the bodies strewn about is indeed perceived to be outside of God and science
by the reader. The abject also appears in Jim’s subsequent reaction
to this scene, “a chuckle emanated from somewhere deep inside.”
Kristeva would certainly characterize such a reaction as abject, “Abjection,
is immoral, sinister, scheming, and shady: a terror that dissembles, a hatred
that smiles.” (Kristeva 4) Thus Jim exemplifies such disturbing abjection
for the reader as he continually takes pleasure in wreaking havoc.
Another source of the monstrous in the story is created through
the process of marginalization. Margins are indeed a sign of that which is
monstrous. Specifically, margins symbolize outcasts, in Jim’s case,
a social outcast. Moreover, those who reside on the margins are also those
who have been alienated by society. Indeed Jim fits such a profile. The disapproval
of the townspeople as well as Cameo is two instances where the marginalization
of Jim becomes apparent. Though Jim’s marginalization is most obvious
in respect to his dwelling. His cabin on the “outskirts of nowhere”
as it is described is a perfect complement to Jim’s overall characterization.
Substantiation for the horror associated with the margins is best described
by Mark Jancovich, “the position of those who have been irrevocably
set outside society have shown to be the most dangerous." (Jancovich
58) Jancovich’s thoughts are based on what was considered popularly
horrific during the 1950s. Specifically, his writing is highly influential
to the creation of the monstrous in “Once Upon a Time.” The story’s
reflection on a factory driven town in Pennsylvania is very similar to that
of a typical suburban industrial town of the 50s. In this respect, much of
what is considered horrific during the 50s, particularly “science run
amuck” and “malevolence in humans” is prevalent in this
short story. (Jancovich 37) Additionally the monstrous in the story becomes
apparent in the portrayal of women.
The monstrous characterization of Jim clearly includes his interaction
with women. As described, Jim has had little luck with the opposite sex in
years past, “he had never had a real relationship.” With Cameo’s
dismissal, any benevolent association Jim has with women is abolished. For
the remainder of the story the reader observes Jim’s association with
women turn into a hyper-objectification. His malicious acts of rape on the
women he desires as well as the indiscriminate killing of people in the market
square certainly perpetuate the belief that the marginalization of Jim by
women is the justification for his evilness. A plausible argument to the prevention
of Jim’s actions could be that if he were shown affection by the opposite
sex, he would have never broached malevolence. This argument is reverberated
by author Sam Moskowitz, in respect to how society breeds monsters. In analyzing
a horror story of the early 20th century Moskotwitz states, “This is
also a modern horror story. Its monster arises from the dankness and filth
of a city's waste. It anticipates the methods of later writers who attempted
to conjure ghosts from the smoke and industrial ash of today's industrial
complex.” (Moskowitz 155) The complex Moskowitz speaks of is society
as a whole. Specifically, he is asserting that what is monstrous develops
out of the natural malevolence of contemporary society. Jim exemplifies this
idea. The constant marginalization by the people in town, women, and his job
pushed Jim to become a monster.
The monstrous in the story is further exemplified with the consistent alluding
to Jim as an animal. These instances appear throughout the story in different
degrees monstrous. For example, Jim’s reassembling of the watch calmed
his malicious emotional outburst. This can be likened to an animal being calmed
by the lure of easy food or such. Though this example doesn’t represent
the monstrous, it does allude to future intentions of such a portrayal. Such
portrayal is seen most clearly in respect to the instances of rape. Jim’s
acts of rape are referred to as “animalistic” and “primal”
in order to convey the idea that rape is indeed a vile, evil act that only
the truly wicked of humans partake in. Other instances of portrayal for Jim
include the murder of his boss.
Rather than the act of murder in itself being animalistic, which
is clear, it is the action that Jim takes after the murder. In driving by
his boss’s bleeding corpse and deriving pleasure from the sight, Jim’s
actions are reminiscent of an animal circling its prey as a symbol of dominance.
Although at first this assertion might seem unfounded, a closer reading of
the story does reveal this act to be the first conscious and deliberate showing
of Jim’s monstrous transformation.
“Once Upon A Time” is an amalgamation of many different
instances of the monstrous in literature. The story provides many examples
of the monstrous in both clear and indistinct forms. The characterization
of Jim as a monster is indeed apparent in turning an analytical eye to the
story. Understanding the concepts of “the uncanny” and “the
abject” as well as what is classically considered monstrous certainly
reveals the true nature of Jim and the story.
Works Cited:
1. Webmaster: Cregg, Matthew S. The Fifth Dimension. Website Last Updated:
4/26/2003 (11:43am) Maggie's Farm Productions, 03/30/03, http://www.thetzsite.com/.
2. Freud, Sigmund. Writings on Art and Literature. Stanford: Stanford University
Press, 1997
3. Jancovich, Mark. Rational fears: American horror in the 1950s. Manchester;
New York: Manchester University Press, 1996.
4. Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1982.
5. Moskowitz, Sam. Science Fiction by gaslight; a history and anthology of
science fiction in the popular magazines, 1891-1911. Wesport, Conn.: Hyperion
Press, 1974
