A Review of Neil Simon’s Lost In Yonkers
Neil Simon's Lost In Yonkers
Say the words, "Neil Simon" and see what comes out as the automatic response. Most often it's "play" or "Broadway". Occasionally it's "Odd Couple" or "Good-bye Girl". Almost never is it "Pulitzer-prize winning author". Neil Simon is thought of primarily in terms of his plays - and rightfully so; however, it is also true that one of his plays, Lost in Yonkers, won a Pulitzer prize. He writes mostly comedies and yet one of his best plays is more drama than comedy. Funny, it's the same as the one that brought a Pulitzer into his vita as well as a slew of Tony awards. William A. Henry III has stated that "the ability to find humor in unlikely places, then ...
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leads to dysfunctional and, or, deviant behavior by individuals and the disruption of society. This is certainly true for the family 'lost in Yonkers'.
The play is set in 1942, in Yonkers, New York. Eddie is a recent widower, his wife having died just recently of cancer. It's up to him to tell his sons, Jay and Arty, that he has to take advantage of the market in metal to make enough money to pay back what he owes the mob. The fact that the money was used in helping his wife make it through the bitter days of her illness takes the 'edge' off the hardness of his situation. Simon uses symbolism here, where the father must sell metal and his sons endure the 'hardness' of his mother (their grandmother) in order to bring safety and security back into their lives.
The symbolism lives on in Grandma, a German immigrant who believes, "You don't survive in this world without being like steel.". Interestingly, the author uses another symbol - the candy store - to show that Grandma ...
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usually wont to go, striking deeply-resonant chords of humanity and family as the tale unfolds" (1997, Internet source).
The characters in the play are shown to be motivated feelings of anger, depression and, or inadequacy. The 'coping mechanisms' they use are, for the most part, inappropriate to healthy family functioning. The adult is stilted by old childhood beliefs while the children are kept in their niche of childish behavior by the barriers created by the dysfunctional nature of the entire family. There is blaming, placating, manipulating and distracting being used as both comedic sources and elements of dysfunctional irony.
Grandma Kurnitz is the matriarch - the pillar ...
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A Review of Neil Simon’s Lost In Yonkers. (2016, July 12). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Review-Neil-Simon-s-Lost-Yonkers/105753
"A Review of Neil Simon’s Lost In Yonkers." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 12 Jul. 2016. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Review-Neil-Simon-s-Lost-Yonkers/105753>
"A Review of Neil Simon’s Lost In Yonkers." Essayworld.com. July 12, 2016. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Review-Neil-Simon-s-Lost-Yonkers/105753.
"A Review of Neil Simon’s Lost In Yonkers." Essayworld.com. July 12, 2016. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Review-Neil-Simon-s-Lost-Yonkers/105753.
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