Being a Human Being in The Humans:

In The Humans, Stephen Karam uses the theme of family as a frame through which we may see humans in our age and examine the universal fears and hopes. In the course of Thanksgiving dinner, the Blake family reveal their anxieties and fears over financial problems, lost love, ill health, and unemployment. And the family’s underlying fears are manifested outward as uncanny noises and darkness. However, the characters respond to each revelation with compassion and show love and support all the time. The Blakes show they have much to be thankful for despite their plight. The tunnel in Erik’s nightmares suggests the abyss of human fears which Karam encourages us to confront. By making Erik able to exit the place, Karam shows Erik finally passes the tunnel and breaks a wrong Oedipus triangle so as to let his blocked energy flow. At the end of the play, Karam leaves the audience in complete darkness without anybody on the stage. This way Karam encourages the audience to confront the uncanny, fears in our life, and suggests that if we maintain our connections to others, we can transcend our fears.