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In many ways, the Maple Street of the television episode is the idealized American suburb from 1960. In what ways does the episode present Maple Street as a model of neighborly social stability, and what larger comment does the author make by showing its sudden breakdown into chaos?
Teaching Suggestion: This discussion allows students to understand the values established by the residents of Maple Street: security, homogeneity, and innocence. In the United States, the growth of the single-family suburban home, removed from the constraints of crowded urban life, signified American prosperity and the triumph of free-market capitalism, a direct contrast to the collectivism of the communist Soviet Union. These homes were private and protected, and the neighborhoods were often explicitly segregated to exclude non-white residents.