The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”

• Genre: Drama; science fiction; teleplay
• Originally Aired: March 4, 1960
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 6-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 2 acts; approx. 16 pages; approx. 22 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Ordinary citizens of Maple Street, a suburban neighborhood somewhere in the US, experience an unexplained disturbance in the skies followed by a failure of all their electrical and mechanical devices. Thrown into darkness and uncertainty, further unexplained phenomena and petty grievances rachet up the tension, and neighbors must hold their fear in check or resort to mob chaos.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Gun violence; scapegoating

Rod Serling, Author

• Bio: 1924-1975; served bravely in World War II; American playwright, screenwriter, television producer, narrator; known for writing live television dramas on programs such as Kraft’s Television Theatre; created his groundbreaking television series The Twilight Zone in 1952; known as the “angry young man” of television, the political themes of his narratives were often at odds with industry executives
• Other Works: Patterns (1955); Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956); “Time Enough at Last” (1959); “To Serve Man” (1962)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• Mob Psychology & Mass Hysteria
• Liberty Versus Security
• Fear of the Unknown

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

• Develop an understanding of how a society’s fascination with certain monsters reflects shared anxieties and how this fear drives the residents of Maple Street into conflict.
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s central themes.
• Analyze characters, setting, and plot to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding the allegorical meaning of the text, Charlie’s defense of his violent behavior, and the themes of Liberty Versus Security and Fear of the Unknown.
• Create an investigative news report based on the plot events of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.”