Based on Steve’s actions in the first part of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, readers may have predicted that Steve would continue being the town’s leader during the power outage. How should readers revise this prediction after Don asks Steve about his radio?

At first, Steve seems to be taking charge by trying to calm the neighbors and organize them. But when Don questions him about the radio, suspicion shifts toward Steve, and the crowd no longer accepts him as a trusted leader. Readers should therefore predict that Steve will no longer be in charge, not that the question proves he is an alien.

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