Question

read the excerpt from act 1 of the monsters are due on maple street.

steve
the two of us can go, charlie.
(he turns to look back at the car)
it couldnt be the meteor. a meteor couldnt do this.
he and charlie exchange a look then they start to walk away from the group.

what do the stage directions tell the reader about steves and charlies point of view?
they do not want to leave their homes and walk into town.
they suspect something strange may be going on.
they know what caused the flash of light but do not want to say it.
they are angry at the group of people for making them leave.

Explanation:

Analyze the excerpt and stage directions

The excerpt from Act 1 of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street reads:
STEVE
The two of us can go, Charlie.
(he turns to look back at the car)
It couldn't be the meteor. A meteor couldn't do this.
He and Charlie exchange a look then they start to walk away from the group.

The stage directions describe Steve looking back at his car, stating "It couldn't be the meteor," and then exchanging a look with Charlie before they walk away from the group.

Evaluate the options

• Option 1: "They do not want to leave their homes and walk into town." — Incorrect. They are actively starting to walk away from the group to go into town.
• Option 2: "They suspect something strange may be going on." — Correct. Steve's realization that "A meteor couldn't do this" combined with the silent, meaningful look exchanged with Charlie indicates they suspect a deeper, stranger cause behind the power outage.
• Option 3: "They know what caused the flash of light but do not want to say it." — Incorrect. They do not know the cause yet; they only suspect it is not a normal meteor.
• Option 4: "They are angry at the group of people for making them leave." — Incorrect. They volunteered to go ("The two of us can go, Charlie") and are not showing anger toward the group.

Determine the correct choice

The silent exchange of a look and the hesitation about the meteor show suspicion and unease about the situation. Thus, the correct option is the second one.

Answer:

• They do not want to leave their homes and walk into town.
• They suspect something strange may be going on. (Correct answer)
• They know what caused the flash of light but do not want to say it.
• They are angry at the group of people for making them leave.