“This isn’t Scranton, I don’t need an oversized recliner in every room.”

One of the more apparent divides that exists between Brigid and her parents is her desire to live in New York City, as she wants nothing to do with her hometown, Scranton. This simple comment, meant to explain that Brigid can live more sparingly in the city, comes across as an indictment of her parents’ home and their upbringing of her. Brigid’s comment reflects her opinion of Scranton and life away from the city, and though she may mean it as an explanation for her own actions, Erik and Deirdre take it personally.

“Uh…she’s still got her good days, you know?…yesterday she was pretty with it for most of the morning, but now she’s [all over the place]…I dunno where she goes.”

Erik’s explanation of Momo’s condition demonstrates how the stress in his life builds as his mother’s condition deteriorates. As Momo becomes less lucid, Erik and Deirdre must care for her more. Erik wonders where Momo goes when she has her episodes, reflecting his feeling that it is almost like she is already gone since the mother he knew is no longer with him. His care of her also mirrors the instability of his life and The Persistence of Generational Fear as he and Deirdre try to support both Momo and their daughters.

“Hey, hey don’t worry about us—having her at home with us is, until it becomes too much, it’s a blessing, you know…right Erik?…Erik…”

When Brigid expresses concern that Deirdre and Erik will burn out caring for Momo, Deirdre pushes back. She calls it a “blessing,” establishing a connection between her struggles and her Catholic faith. Deirdre looks for meaning in the difficult parts of her life, wanting it to be purposeful and not an unfortunate coincidence. She values her family and sees the opportunity to care for Momo as a calling, making herself feel more in control of the unstable situation.

“[H]ey, it’s why I don’t like you and Rich moving in together before making a real commitment.”

When Brigid and Deirdre discuss Aimee’s broken relationship, Deirdre projects her concerns for Aimee onto Brigid. She believes that if Aimee and Carol had been married, then they could have worked through their differences, instead of splitting and leaving Aimee heartbroken. She hints that Brigid and Richard should be married if they are going to have a life together. Deirdre’s unwanted advice speaks to the volatility of familial relationships, as her suggestion that Brigid and Richard’s commitment isn’t “real” in her eyes speaks to a lack of trust in Brigid’s own agency and values.

“Thanks, okay, Repairman, thank you, but can you at least…someone needs to say something about my big window. No one has said anything about my big window.”

As the youngest daughter, Brigid is constantly trying to prove that she can be an independent adult. By hosting Thanksgiving dinner, she hopes to prove this, though she struggles to not fall into the same family dynamic in which she is the baby. As she tries to take pride in her life in the city, Erik evaluates her apartment and makes comments about what it is lacking, refusing to herald what Brigid sees as an accomplishment. Brigid pushes back against this, encouraging him to stop looking for faults and admire what she has. Her hopeful mention of the “big window” shows her trying to redirect the conversation into something less contentious and hurtful.

“Under the following dialogue, Erik wanders into the adjoining room to grab a private moment for himself; he rubs his aching lower back, takes a deep breath. In the other room, Richard pours champagne into the plastic cups.”

With each of the Blakes struggling through their own personal crises, these moments in which they enter another room are vital to the tension of the play. With the set constructed so that the different rooms are always visible to the audience, but not to other characters, private moments become a part of the plot. In this one scene, Erik takes a private moment to collect himself, and while he is alone, the burden of all he carries becomes apparent. Meanwhile, Richard pours champagne, preparing to celebrate, creating a contrasting image that only further highlights that Erik is hiding something.

“Yes, thank you…(referring to the paper plates)…How do you like our fine china, Dad?”

The Stress of Economic Instability plays an important role in The Humans, showing the pressure that the American middle class experiences. Brigid uses paper plates for the Blakes’ Thanksgiving, primarily because she and Richard have not fully moved in and unpacked yet. However, these paper plates demonstrate how comfortable the Blakes are with making the most of what they have. Brigid jokes that the paper plates are her “fine china,” and no one complains that their Thanksgiving is not held in a fancier atmosphere.

“Where do we go? Where, where do we go? Where do we go? Where do we go where do we go where do we go where do we go…”

Momo’s utterances are often nonsensical yet anxiety inducing. When she repeatedly asks this question, it is not addressed to any specific person about any specific thing, and yet it seems to reference something from Momo’s past. Erik mentions in The Humans that Momo’s childhood in the city was abysmal and poverty stricken. With this mysterious and traumatic past hinted to at times, Momo’s utterings often take on a darker meaning, suggesting the persistence of generational fear.

“[H]ey I’m just appreciating how, you see all these rich people walking around New York, God knows where their money comes from, but…end of the day, everything that anyone’s got…I don’t care how many candles you have…one day it goes…whatever gifts God’s given us, in the end, no matter who you are…everything you have goes.”

When the Blakes make a toast, Erik makes a little speech about valuing his family and forgetting money and material possessions. His toast foreshadows his admission later in the play of his affair and the horrible financial situation it has placed their family in. His insistence that “everything […] goes” reveals how he tries to cope with the stress of economic instability by habitually trying to downplay the benefits and ease of wealth.

“Be quiet—you have no idea—these people have nothing…they’re all just looking to learn English, to find work—we think we’ve got nothing, but man…”

Deirdre is very committed to her volunteer work in Scranton, working with Bhutanese refugees. When her family teases her about this work, she defends herself, comparing the Blakes’ situation to that of the refugees. She tries to put her own struggles into perspective by working with the volunteers, minimizing the pain of her own stress and pushing herself to be thankful for what she has. Once again, this is in keeping with Brigid’s use of her Catholic faith as a means to find control and stability.

“The housewife cheats on her husband, right?—and he comes home from work and asks her how her day was and—I mean what can she say? ‘Today I cheated on you and contracted the HIV-virus, honey, how was your day?’…can you imagine?”

When Deirdre mentions this movie, she subtly references the volatility in her own marriage, invoking the theme of the volatility in familial relationships. She describes the movie as cheesy but also terrifying and jokes about the gravity of the situation. By describing the moment of revelation in the movie in which the wife asks her husband how his day was while also revealing her affair, she projects her own discontent and fears, foreshadowing the eventual reveal of Erik’s own infidelity.

“Erik climbs the stairs, struggles for reception by the window. He sees some falling ashes. It looks like light flurries. Perhaps the smallest suggestion of a moving shadow in the alley. Erik’s a bit unsettled by what he sees, he steps away from the window, takes a few calming deep breaths…”

Once again, this private moment, in which Erik looks out the window, adds to the tension and anxiety he feels. Though he appears to be looking at a common scene of someone in the alley and cigarette ash being emptied from the window upstairs, the sights unsettle him. With the revelation that he and Aimee were in the city during the September 11th terrorist attacks, this moment receives more context. The scene is unsettling because of the cigarette ash falling like snow. It reminds him of that day and the horrors he saw, as well as the emotions he felt when he worried for Aimee.

“[W]ell hey, I’ll let you go, but glad you’re—…ha, I’ll tell them, they’ll appreciate that…so—absolutely, and love to your—exactly, Happy Thanksgiving and—(hurt, but trying to keep things light)—well don’t wish me a Merry Chr—we can talk again before Christmas.”

When Aimee speaks to Carol on the phone, she tries her best to be conciliatory, hoping for some kind of resolution. She is disappointed and hurt when these feelings are not reciprocated by Carol, and she tries to keep this pain from spilling over. Aimee’s fragmented diction reveals that Carol is interrupting her, which implies that Carol is not responding with the enthusiasm or patience that Aimee hoped for. When Carol seems to suggest that they not speak to each other again, wishing Aimee a merry Christmas, Aimee’s fears of their relationship being truly over are realized.

“Deirdre steps away from Momo to tell Brigid to forget the Ensure shake, and catches a glimpse of Richard and Brigid enjoying a quiet moment—they’re just visible in the kitchen alley. They are laughing about something. Richard kisses her forehead, then slaps her on the ass playfully. Richard disappears into the alley as she slaps his ass back. This stirs something inside Deirdre. She retreats back to the couch.”

Once again, the set of the play aids in character development by allowing the audience to see personal and private moments. When Deirdre sees how close and loving Richard and Brigid are, she becomes more aware of the state of her own relationship. Despite all of her and Erik’s admonishments to Brigid about the life she lives, she has a love and affection in her relationship that Deirdre does not have. Though Deirdre never actually says anything of this nature, this silent moment speaks volumes, demonstrating how the visual aspect of a play and its set can reveal important aspects of characterization.

“Whattya want me to…Momo’d…if I skinned my knee or had any kinda setback, Momo’d say…‘This, too, shall pass,’ and I’d roll my eyes at her, but…this’ll pass, it will…”

As Erik comforts Aimee over the dissolution of her relationship, he offers her advice that Momo once gave him. He encourages her, saying that her pain will pass, and admits that though he once thought this silly, he believes it. This moment shows how aging has impacted Erik: He finds himself giving his daughter advice that he once did not believe. He also frames this advice by saying that it could apply to anything from a skinned knee to some more serious setback, making it advice for himself to take as well.

“Sure they are, it’s always a man driving a stake through the heart of the vampire—or if you’re a zombie, you eat people but your biggest threat is what?—getting killed by an enterprising human, right?”

When the topic of conversation turns to zombies and monsters, Richard states that monsters have fears too and that to them, humans are the monsters. By referencing these monsters and shifting the perspective of the horror away from humans to monsters, he shows the harm that humans can do. Richard’s commentary creates important context for the title of the play, The Humans, by subtly alluding to how the play’s characters wrestle with “monsters” that are never supernatural but the result of the unjust human-made society they live in.

“Yeah, well…Carol and I broke up because…we were unhappy?…and now I’m [wondering]…maybe loving someone long-term is more about…deciding whether to go through life unhappy alone…or unhappy with someone else?”

As Brigid discusses Deirdre’s constant suggestions that she marry Richard with Aimee, Aimee reveals more about her own state of mind when it comes to romance. Aimee has become disillusioned since she and Carol broke up, wondering if instead of searching for unhappiness, she is meant to find someone to join her in her misery. This suggestion reflects the state of Deirdre and Erik’s marriage, as both lead unhappy lives, though they are committed to each other.

“I bought it. After what the hurricane did to this neighborhood…you can’t be without light, not in a basement apartment. They say another storm’s gonna strike this year…you’re in a Zone A flood zone.”

In buying a storm kit for Brigid, Erik gives his anxiety a physical form, speaking to the persistence of generational fear. His worries stem from his own experiences with Aimee during the September 11th terrorist attacks but also becomes symbolic of his outlook on life. For Erik, there is always another threat and another storm coming, and he wants to be prepared. He does not view Brigid’s risk as an “if” but a “when,” and he views it in much the same way as he looks at his worsening financial crisis.

“Richard returns from the kitchen area, sets down final side dishes. He isn’t aware of how wounded Deirdre is at this moment. Erik is also unaware as he arrives at the table. Momo is awake but doesn’t seem very alert.”

A key feature of a theatrical production is the visual aspect of it. Actors can imbue emotion into their character without needing to speak, giving the audience a glimpse into their character’s minds without necessarily revealing anything to the other characters. In this excerpt, the stage directions require that Deirdre display how wounded she is, while the characters around her stay oblivious to her pain. This amplifies the tension of the scene, speaking to the volatility of familial relationships even when conflicts are not openly addressed.

“I’m saying—Dee’s bosses have more money than God and they’re stingy with her on everything, bonuses, vacation days…Aimes gets fired ’cause she’s sick—my grandma almost lost her life in a fire ’cause her bosses locked the doors to her factory to keep ’em from taking breaks, coupla blocks from here, so—and this isn’t some scientific notion or something—but, yeah, I do notice that rich people are usually pretty messed up.”

Throughout The Humans, Erik makes it clear that he disapproves of wealth and sees it as a corrupting force, especially when wealth inequality leads to the stress of economic instability for struggling families like the Blakes. The Blakes are an example of how the American middle class grew during the 20th century only to meet roadblocks in the 21st. Though no one in the family is facing factory tragedies because of greedy owners, they are constantly underappreciated, undervalued, and underpaid, all for reasons outside of their control. His discontent alludes the growing wealth divide and pressure that the American middle class feels.

“[I]t’s fine—in my early thirties—I was depressed for a bit, so—I’m fine now, just took me a while to get up and running again, but…I’ve been better for years, it’s why I’m comfortable talking about it.”

In this excerpt, Richard acts as a foil to the many Blakes around his table. Like them, he struggles with personal crises and challenges, but unlike them, he is willing to share them openly. While the Blakes struggle to speak openly or accept the love and support of their family members, Richard easily volunteers to talk about his challenges and how he overcame them. As the only character in the play not belonging to the Blake family, his actions and words often offer a contrast to the family, further contextualizing their own problems.

“Tunnels are—in my class we got this list of primitive settings?—tunnels, and caves, forests, the sea…stuff so a part of us it’s…you know, two hundred thousand years ago…someone might’ve…closed their eyes and…seen a similar kind of [image]…?”

Richard’s mention of tunnels to Erik acts as foreshadowing for Erik’s eventual confession of his affair and his moment of growth at the end of the play. The tunnel represents a journey in which a person must move forward to change and grow. It is a journey in which they will often go toward light to escape darkness. Richard’s reflections illuminate a key aspect of Erik’s dream, as Erik is also at a crossroads in his life and must find the courage to move forward.

“Electrons, yeah…it also had vague religious overtones, there was a poem at the bottom in about ten fonts about how we already are a part of everything, how—”

When Deirdre goes to the bathroom, Aimee and Brigid poke fun at an email she sent them. Though the article talks about electrons, a scientific topic, they both ascribe religious intent to the piece, presuming that this is what Deirdre really meant by sharing it with them. Aimee, in particular, believes that it is religious and uses the poem at the end as a way to discredit it. This moment represents the changing dynamic between Deirdre and her daughters as they grow apart. Aimee and Brigid have begun thinking of her along strict lines, refusing to see that she may in fact be trying to connect with them.