The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Theme

One central theme of "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" by Rod Sterling is that fear and suspicion are destructive. For example, Charlie's fear of a monster caused him to act without thinking. When the figure approaches in Act 2 he does not think to yell "Who's there!" instead he shoots it only to find that he had shot his neighbor Pete Van Horn. This helps support the theme because it shows how Charlie's fear of a monster and suspicion of others destroyed another person's life. Another example of this theme is when Charlie accuses Tommy of being the monster, it's because he's afraid of retaliation for shooting Pete Van Horn. "It's...it's the kid. It's Tommy. He's the one." -Charlie page 84. This helps show the theme because of how Charlie was afraid of being blamed or for evidence to point toward him. His choice to blame Tommy destroys the trust of his neighbors and friends. The last example of this theme is when the people of Maple Street start pointing fingers and getting violent. They are quick to blame the people that they consider friends and that suspicion escalates to violence and chaos. This supports the theme because it shows how fear and suspicion can get the best of people and cause them to do things that they shouldn't. Fear and suspicion destroyed the residents of Maple Street.
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Theme
Example #1
It's the Monster!
No! It's Pete Van Horn!
It's the kid. He is the monster!
Example #2

Over 30 Million Storyboards Created

No Downloads, No Credit Card, and No Login Needed to Try!