The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street
Teledrama By
Rod Serling
How does this portrait compare to the
opening scene described at the beginning of
the play?
• Portrait of Orleans, 1950
What’s the first sign that something
is wrong on Maple Street?
• The electricity and phones don’t work
NARRATOR’S VOICE: Maple Street. Six-fortyfour P.M. on a late September evening. Maple
Street in the last calm and reflective moment . . .
before the monsters came!
Why did the narrator tell us that the monsters
came, eliminating any suspense about their
coming?
• The fact that they came was
not the most important thing.
Who they were, what they
did, and why they came may
be more important.
Tommy is persistent but a little intimidated by
the crowd as he tells about a ship landing
from outer space.
What does intimidated mean?
• Made timid or fearful; bullied
What is Tommy’s source of
information?
• Stories he has read
Tommy is partly frightened and partly defiant as well.
What does defiant mean?
• Showing bold resistance to authority or
an opponent
Tommy’s words carried with them a strange
kind of validity that came without logic but had
meaning and effect.
What does validity mean?
• State of being supported by facts; truth
SALLY. [In a whisper, sensing the
antagonism of the crowd.] Tommy, please
son . . . honey, don’t talk that way—
What does antagonism mean?
• Unfriendliness, hostility
CHARLIE: I wonder if Floral Street’s got the same
deal we got. Where is Pete Van Horn anyway?
Didn’t he get back yet? [Suddenly there’s the
sound of a car’s engine starting to turn over.]
Why does the author have a character raise the
question but then interrupts with something else
before there is an answer?
• The author may want to remind the
audience that Pete left and has not
yet returned. Peter will more than
likely play a critical role later in the
play.
SALLY: Can you get it started, Les?
GOODMAN: No dice.
What does “no dice” mean?
• It is an idiom that means “it didn’t
work.”
When is the first time that the
audience begins to see the
inhabitants of Maple Street begin
acting as a mob?
• After Les Goodman’s car starts
inexplicably.
People become suspicious when Les
Goodman's car starts because
• everyone else's car is dead
STEVE: Wait a minute . . . wait a minute! Let’s not
be a mob!
In this one line Steve demonstrates his leadership
qualities. What in particular shows his leadership?
• He’s not afraid to oppose the group. A
leader is a good communicator, and he
uses the right word, mob, that his
neighbors should react to.
GOODMAN: Now I suppose that’s supposed to
incriminate me! The light goes on and off. That
really does it, doesn’t it?
What does incriminate mean?
• To show the guilt of
What would incriminate a child suspected of
drawing on the wall with a crayon?
• The crayon in his/her hand
• To be caught red-handed
How has the mood changed from the end of
Act I to the opening of Act II?
• The tension is still there, but the open
hostility and anger have diminished.
– The mood at the close of act 1 is tense and
charged with anger
– Act 2 opens with Mrs. Goodman carrying a
glass of milk and candle; people are talking
in quiet voices
CHARLIE: Why look at this street! Nothin’ but candles.
Why, it’s like goin’ back into the dark ages or somethin’!
What is ironic about Charlie’s statement? (irony is an
expression in which the spoken word is the opposite of
what is in the speaker’s mind)
• Charlie is referring to the darkness as
the absence of light; a different meaning
could be that the people are behaving
like primitives from the dark ages
STEVE: Let’s get it all out. Let’s pick out every
idiosyncrasy of every single man, woman and child
on the street.
What do people start looking for in their neighbors?
• Strange habits
STEVE: A shotgun? Good Lord—will anybody think a thought around
here? Will you people wise up? What good would a shotgun do against—
[Now CHARLIE pulls the gun from STEVE’S hand.]
CHARLIE: No more talk, Steve. You’re going to talk us into a grave! You’d
let whatever’s out there walk right over us, wouldn’t yuh? Well, some of us
won’t!
What might the gun symbolize?
• Until now, Steve has been the leader
(controlling the group by his words). The gun
might symbolize a shift from a group
governed by thought and discussion (Steve)
to one governed by force (Charlie and the
gun).
Why does Pete Van Horn get
killed?
• he isn't recognized in the dark, and people
are scared
After Pete Van Horn is killed, why
do suspicions suddenly switch to
Charlie?
• his electricity goes on
DON: What about it, Charlie? How come you’re the only one with lights
now?
GOODMAN: That’s what I’d like to know.
Why does Les Goodman feel no compassion for Charlie now that the
crowd has turned against him?
• Charlie was encouraging the crowd
to suspect Les of being a monster
and did not support his own best
friend, Steve.
CHARLIE: Look, look I swear to you . . . it isn’t me . . . But I
do know who it is . . . I know who it is that doesn’t belong . . .
It’s . . . it’s . . . The kid. It’s Tommy. He’s the one.
Does Charlie really believe what he is saying? How do you
know?
• Charlie doesn’t really believe it. In his
fear he is grasping at straws to save
himself. He stammers and his speech is
halting as he searches desperately for
an answer that will shift the crowd’s
attention from him.
Two figures silhouetted against the bright lights appear. We
get only a vague feeling of form, but nothing more explicit
than that.
What does explicit mean?
• Clearly expressed
How do aliens use their understanding of human nature to
accomplish their goal?
• The aliens know that the best way to
destroy a human community is to set it
against itself. The aliens plant the seed
for disagreement, and people’s fears grow
into hostility toward one another. The
aliens don’t have to use bombs or any
type of weapon—the humans will destroy
themselves.
What is this play’s theme (universal
message)?
• Humans are too quick to judge and
suspect each other of wrongdoing
– There are many opportunities for the
characters to make the right decision, control
their fears, and work together for a solution.
Instead, they allow themselves to become a
mob and resort to violence.