Rod Serling is an amazing writer with a great imagination. He has a great imagination because he was one of the first writers to do a sci fi. Serlings Twilight Zone picture is rated second best to a lot of viewers, but it is my favorite. I like the graphics in the movie, but in the writing I like all the sound affects. I really enjoy this sci fi because it is not that scary either. I couldn't believe some of the things he thought of. I mean all of the houses iridescent. I enjoyed this screenplay. This movie and screenplay were the first sci fi things I have seen and they were not as scary as I thought they were. I liked the movie and have seen more Twilight Zone films since then. In this film Rod Serling shows passion along with anticipation and dishonesty. In the course of Pete Van Horns death it left suspense on the trail. Pete Van Horns death foreshadows the death of many, advances the plot with curiosity, and gives a hint of the theme. Pete Van Horns death makes sure to advance the plot. For me it advanced the story and made it more exciting because of all the curiosity. Pete died because Charlie shot him. Charlie shot him because he was afraid Pete was a monster. Charlie thought Pete was a monster because Tommy told everyone the story from a comic book. So it really wasn't Charlie's fault because everyone was scared and he was trying to do what was best for the people. That is what I think. Petes death leads to more questions like; why was Pete in the bushes? How come he wasn't part of the mob? Did Pete know something everyone else didn't? These questions only make you want to read more and more of the book. " Don: we may need this. Steve: A shotgun?(He pulls it out of Dons hand) Good lord-will anybody think a thought around here? Will you people wise up? What good would a shotgun do against -. Charlie: No more talk steve. You're going to talk us into a grave! You'd let whatever out there walk all over us wouldn't ya? Well some of us won't! (He swings the gun around to point it toward the sidewalk. The dark figure continues to walk toward them)"(678 Serling) Pete Van Horns death foreshadows the death of many because he died with the suspense and curiosity of others to shoot the gun. Pete died because everyone was fearful of there own life. Pete was the first to go, but not the only one. The death of Pete tells us that the neighbors were not very secure of themselves and the surrounding around them. Serling writes " Voices: How could he know? Who told him? Make the kid answer. Don: It was Charlie who killed old man horn. Woman: But it was the kid here that knew what was going to happen all the time. He was the one that knew."(681) They go back to the death of Pete Van Horn, but they are now accusing Tommy. Everyone is accusing everyone else because they don't want to be the next one accused. This results in death by numbers. This event adds to the theme because Pete dies and he dies because people are scared. So I think the theme would be that they are scared and worried about themselves so it causes them to do things they would never do. For instance Sterling writes " Figure One: Understand the procedure now? Just stop a few of there machines and radios and telephones and lawn mowers.....throw them into darkness for a few hours and then you just sit back and watch the pattern"(683). I thought this book was one of the best things I have ever read. I mean one of the best sci-fi things I have read. I liked the movie better because you got to see them acting all suspicious instead of hearing everyone else reading. I enjoyed reading and watching this story and plan on seeing a lot more sci-fi things. For now this is AL signing off from, "The Twilight Zone".
trance. Throughout the book, you ask yourself "What's this going to lead to?" or"What's this got to do with anything? All the things that occur lead you to youranswers and to more of your questions. The surprising results of the eventsbasically have you keep reading and never stop until you are finished with the book. Some kids get so in to the book that they don't pay attention in class. I, personally,believe that the few books that have this capability are truly remarkable. Here is anexample from the book where Rod Serling writes" (Steve What was that? AMeteor? (Don) That's what it looked like. I didn't hear any crash though, did you?(Steve) Nope, I didn't hear anything except a roar." (668) Out of all that I have said and wrote about this Rod Serling's writing, "TheMonsters are Due on Maple Street", it comes down to saying one adjective: Awesome! All the hard work of the 1950's really has paid off in the end. I reallycouldn't have done it better myself. I, personally, think that the maker of thiswriting, Rod Serling, is a man of historic proportions. Even today, in the near2003, our new and improved twilight zone episodes are of no match against RodSerling's.
"The Monsters are Due on Maple Street", by Rod Serling, is a great teleplay and movie. Even though it was produced in the 1950's, the technology and `special' effects were great for that era. The riot started when Tommy started to talk about the aliens, he was the one who put the ideas into everyone's head. The neighbors just accused other neighbors of being the alien. They accuse everyone else because they wanted someone, besides them, to take the blame. Just like the movie, that same scene of rioting and choas prepares the reader for the aliens, foreshadows doom for the humans on `maple streets everywhere', and the weakness of humans. I think that the rioting and chaos is really what builds the reader's suspense, and it builds the plot up to the climax. That is how Serling builds the plot. The scene builds as people start to yell and blame each other for the strange happenings. Like lights flickering, cars starting, people hit each other, and then the gun fires. I think that the reader knows that something is about to happen. And then the camera goes up to the shy and shows two weird looking aliens. The readers finally know the cause of the chaos, the aliens. The aliens just did a few weird things and then they sat back and watched everyone accuse each other of being the real alien. "It's the kid. It's Tommy. No, it isn't the kid. It's at Bob Weaver's house."(Page 681) That is just how crazy everyone got. The chaos foreshadows what is about to come in the play. The reader can tell that something is about to happen. The alien's plan is to take over the world. They want to destroy the people on the earth by making similar situations. They do a few weird things and then they sit back and let the people on the street do everything else. The people think that their worst enemies are the aliens but in actuality they are their own worst enemy. A good quote from this section is when the aliens are talking. The aliens say, "Just stop a few of their machines and radios and telephones and lawn mowers, throw them into darkness for a few hours, and then sit back and watch the pattern. They pick the most dangerous enemy they can find, and it's themselves. All we need do is sit back and watch. And we'll go from one to the other and let them destroy themselves, one to the other, one to the other, one to the other..."(page 682) The theme for "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" is that Serling wants you not to turn on your friends in a tough time. I think that the theme is really good for this movie/teleplay. The chaos in the movie/teleplay is a major part of the story. The accusations that Charlie makes against the boy, Tommy, along with all the other accusations the neighbors make against him, play a big part in the theme. Everyone is accusing everyone else of being the alien and doing all of the strange things. They would pick at the smallest thing, like someone having insomnia. They said that it was him just because he could not sleep lots of times. So he would go outside and look up at the start and they sky. I think that basically these people were paranoid. A good quote that shows how paranoid these people were is found on page 684. " The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. The weapons are simply their attitudes, thoughts, prejudices--to be found only in the minds of men." I think "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" is a very good movie/teleplay. The angled shots of the characters screaming faces in the chaos scene are very funny. If you are thinking about buying the movie or reading the teleplay, then take my word on it and buy it. I would highly recommend it because it is so good and it is actually pretty funny. The movie and the teleplay both have the same basic message, not to judge your neighbor. I think that the message is more solid in the teleplay just because if you watch the movie you get caught up in the `special effects'. I think that you should defiantly get the movie and teleplay. It is worth it.
Everyone knows the beginning " There is a fifth dimension beyond that witch is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity..." This is a perfect beginning to the Monsters are Due on Maple Street. Produced during the cold war the format of the story clearly shows a normal American street in a normal American town during that time. Neighbors who knew each other for years started spying on each other. Les Goodman was a victim of such a thing. Neighbors turned on him, accusing him of crimes he did not commit. This scene shows how quick we are to judge some one, to crucify some one, and then go after some one else.
I think that the people of Maple Street and how they set up a kangaroo court to judge Goodman helps to advance the plot. Just like in a real kangaroo court Goodman is judged by a set of rules set up just for that night. Just because Goodman's car started on it own without anyone standing near it. Readers soon know that this night will won't be any normal type of night. With a meteor-flying overhead, power outages, phone lines dead, machines starting on their own and then stop, people acting strange this is no normal night. Serling has Goodman's car start with out anyone near it witch is pretty strange. This is what sets off the judgment of Les Goodman.
When many people are convened that Goodman is an alien they set out to destroy the world they set out to crucify him. When the woman said she sometimes saw Goodman late at night looking at the stars as if he were waiting for something. The mob gets even more suspicious about Goodman they seem like have all the peaces they need to.....to kill. Goodman tries to defend him self by saying he is guilty of insomnia. He tells his neighbors that they sick people and they started something that will be a nightmare. Now in the move not the book this scene is pretty cheesy, I mean the acting and the setting looks pretty old, about 50 or 60 years old.
Just when it seems that Goodman will be Maple Street scrape goat, Steve's wife talks about a radio set that he has been working on. Then it seems that Steve has been commutating with little, green, three headed men who fly over earth in things that look like meteors. Maple Street lets go of Goodman and starts to hunts down Steve for a new scrape goat. "Go ahead what's my wife said? Let's get it all out. Let's pick out every idiosyncrasy of every single man, woman, and child on the street. And then we might as well set up some kind of kangaroo court. How about a firing squad at dawn. Charlie so we can get rid of all the suspects. Narrow them down. Make it easier for you."(677)
I enjoyed this story it had a good plot, characters, and moral. At the end when the aliens spoke to each other "Understand the procedure now?" The aliens had a plan to take over earth by having man to destroy the most dangerous enemy and it's them selves. "The world is full of Maple Streets and we'll go one to the other, one to the other, one to the other----" We need to be careful to not make the same mistake as those of the past. Or we could destroy our selves.
