| Author |
Pangborn, Edgar, 1909-1976 |
| Title |
The Good Neighbors
|
| Note |
Reading ease score: 72.3 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.
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| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, David Wilson and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
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| Summary |
"The Good Neighbors" by Edgar Pangborn is a science fiction short story published in the early 1960s. The narrative explores themes of otherness and compassion through the lens of an extraterrestrial visit. Set against the backdrop of a near-futuristic Earth, it deals with the repercussions of an alien creature's unintended arrival, turning a moment of curiosity into chaos and tragedy. The story follows a massive alien creature that escapes from a spaceship, causing panic as it drifts through major American cities, creating destruction without malice. The creature's lamentation echoes through urban spaces, stirring fear as military forces scramble to address the situation. Eventually, the alien is brought down in New York City by a misguided military pilot, leading to catastrophic damage and loss of life. In the aftermath, the alien's home species sends an apology, expressing regret for the chaos caused by their child's mishap with the airlock and offering a comically inadequate reimbursement to those affected. Through this tale, Pangborn critiques human reactions to the unknown, illustrating how fear can lead to misunderstanding and tragedy, while also hinting at a shared responsibility among neighbors—whether human or extraterrestrial. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
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| Subject |
Science fiction
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| Subject |
Short stories
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| Subject |
Human-alien encounters -- Fiction
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
26536 |
| Release Date |
Sep 5, 2008 |
| Most Recently Updated |
Jan 4, 2021 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
54 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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