The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

After Reading Comprehension
1. Recall When do the neighbors first sense something is wrong?
2. Clarify How is Pete Van Horn killed?
3. Clarify Why do the neighbors become suspicious of Tommy?
Literary Analysis
4. Identify Conflict Review the conflict map you created as you read.
Then explain the main conflict in the story. What do the characters’
reactions to the conflict and their dialogue reveal about them?
5. Analyze the Teleplay How
did the stage directions help
you understand the teleplay?
Record your answers on a
chart like the one shown.
6. Analyze Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is a technique a writer uses to
hint at something that will occur later in a story. Reread lines 51–54 of
Act 1. What is the purpose of the narrator’s role here?
7. Draw Conclusions At various points in the teleplay, the mob thinks
different people are the monsters in their midst. Make a list of these
people, and consider the moments when the mob turns on them.
What conclusions can you draw about how the mob picks its victims?
8. Make Judgments In your opinion, who are the monsters referred to in
the title? Give reasons for your answer.
Extension and Challenge
9. Creative Project: Drama With a small group, review the information
about Rod Serling on page 139. Then act out a part of the teleplay that
your group thinks communicates a message about prejudice and fear.
Remember to follow stage directions as you act out your scene. After your
performance, explain why your group chose that particular scene.