The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street

THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET









Activity : Day One

  1. Discuss who Rod Serling was. What kind of writing did he do?
  2. A theme is a message about life or the human nature the work conveys. Based on the title, what do you think is the main theme of The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street?

    Activity : Day Two

    1. Read the teleplay, The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street.
    2. Describe the role Steve Brand, Mr. Goodman, Charlie Farnsworth, Tommy and Pet Van Horn have in the teleplay. Based on their reactions to events that happened, why do you think the following statement describes the theme of this teleplay fairly accurately?
        When we let prejudice and suspicion control us, we become our own worst enemy.

    Activity : Day Three

    1. Speculate as to how an individual might have reacted differently in the same situation. Do you think being part of a crowd makes a situation worse? At what point do you think a group become a crowd?
    2. What does the narrator mean when he says the search for a scapegoat produces fallout that can harm future generations?

    Activity : Day Four (Choose one of the following:)

    1. Can you think of some event in history that might not have happened had it not been for a "mob mentality"? How might things have been different?
    2. Have you ever been wrongly accused of anything? How did that make you feel? If you have not, how do you think it would make you feel?
    3. Have you ever gone against your own beliefs because it's what all your friends were doing? Why is it so hard not to become part of "a crowd"?