63 pages • 2 hours read
Matt HaigThe Humans
Fiction | Novel | AdultA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Love Is Integral to Survival
Haig focuses heavily on the topic of love. Love is a force for inspiration and beauty, and for appreciation of oneself and one’s world. It is enjoyable, pleasurable, and complicated, but worth the risk. Haig develops the theme that love is integral to survival, not divorced from it. Without love, Haig proposes, human beings cannot navigate this often cruel and lonely world. The most obvious example of this theme in action is within Andrew’s choice to become a human being. Andrew had never experienced the love of a family before because on his home planet no creature dies. With immortality, creatures don’t need the comforts of companionship, but on Earth, Andrew discovers how beautiful and life-changing love can be. Without love, he would not be motivated to keep learning more about what humans are like. Love is such a powerful force that Andrew tries to sacrifice himself for his love. Love makes Andrew feel possessive and protective of the people in his life, feelings that gives him a reason to keep on living.
This theme is also reflected in the experiences of Gulliver and Isobel. Gulliver’s depression is connected to this unhappy family life and his lack of companionship. He doesn’t have a lot of friends and is often bullied at school. When at home, he is largely ignored by his father. Without love, Gulliver doesn’t learn how to appreciate himself and his life. Similarly, Isobel has been trudging through her career and relationship for the sake of it, unmotivated by love. When Andrew changes into an affectionate and attentive mate, Isobel’s own sense of security grows as well. Haig uses this family unit to depict the importance of finding and nurturing love. Love is important to the survival of the individual and of the community.
Don’t Judge What You Haven’t Experienced
The Humans explores the dangers of othering. When we don’t know or understand something, a common reaction is to reject its existence or try to ignore it. This is not just true of humans. The beings on Andrew’s home planet assume that human beings are wholly bad because they don’t understand them. At first, Andrew finds the humans repulsive, but later, when he sees Jonathan’s alien corpse, he finds his home species monstrous. The question of who the alien is in this story is an important one.
The risk of othering is that one may close oneself off to new experiences that could fundamentally improve one’s own life. If Andrew had refused to appreciate the humans for their love and warmth, he would never have found a family and would have returned to a highly logical, rational, and boring life on his planet. Similarly, if Gulliver had decided to be taken in by the fear and confusion he felt when he found out about his supposed father’s alien past, he would never have learned about the vast and beautiful possibilities of the world. Knowing that there is the potential for so much more than his current situation makes Gulliver feel hopeful about his future and excited about the world around him. Being open-minded takes Gulliver out of his depression.
Haig believes it is important not to judge before experiencing. Andrew’s hosts have not experienced Earth at all and are only using their analysis of human civilization to logically conclude that humans are incapable of evolving and progressing safely. This judgment is part truth, part stereotype. Andrew discovers that there is potential for humans to do good with their mathematical ventures, or at least there is good in helping humans stay alive. To his hosts, however, the humans are unworthy of their lives, their planet, and support from the rest of the universes. The hosts are willing to help annihilate an entire species rich with possibilities because of their inexperienced judgments.
This theme is not only apparent in the context of aliens versus non-aliens. It is also relevant to the relationships between the characters. When Andrew comes across Isobel’s unpublished manuscript, he is given a lens into her deepest thoughts. This perspective builds empathy and understanding between them. Though he projects his own feelings of love onto Isobel, Haig uses this discovered novel to help Andrew think of the world through Isobel’s eyes instead of only his own. In this way, their relationship grows stronger, proving that the more you are sensitive to another’s experiences, the stronger the foundation you will build for yourself and others.
Life Is Full of Paradoxes
Andrew’s home planet loathes humans precisely for their paradoxes. His species does not trust a species that can contain multitudes, for this complexity makes them unpredictable and therefore dangerous. Yes, humans are capable of kindness, but they’re also capable of intense cruelty.
Haig explores many different paradoxes in a human’s life to advocate for the beauty of this human nature. Andrew starts to appreciate how paradoxes contribute to the miracle of human life. With such irrationality, it is truly impressive that humans manage to survive and live with happiness. One of the most prevalent paradoxes that embodies this feat is that of the balance between happiness and pain. On the one hand, pain is excruciating, but on the other hand, humans can’t have happiness without pain. These two concepts go hand in hand, even though they are also diametrically opposed. Another paradox is that of beauty. Beauty is awe-inspiring, but it can also make a human sad if they don’t have anyone to share with. These paradoxes help to emphasize the low moments in a human’s life, but they also buoy the human spirit. The balance between sadness and happiness, love and loneliness, beauty and isolation, existing and living are part of the human struggle. Haig encourages his reader to appreciate the complicated paradoxes that define our lives instead of worrying about them. Like Andrew, these paradoxes will help us to live more fulfilled and interesting lives.
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