Family

Family, and the influence it can have, is a major theme in the play “Lost in Yonkers” by Neil Simon. At the beginning of the play, Jay tells Arty that their mother always said something was different about the Kurnitz children because of how their mother raised them. At first, this statement is just a supposition, and seems to be what everyone says of every family. But when the text slowly reveals each of the Kurnitz children, it appears the boys’ mother was correct in her assessment. According to the rumors, Grandma kept hitting Bella on her head with a cane. When Louie broke a cheap plate, his mother locked him in a closet for hours. Others suffered similar repercussions if they did anything wrong. Most of these stories are true.

In these cases, the children all learned different lessons. However, it is easy to tell their mother...