37 pages • 1 hour read
Neil SimonLost In Yonkers
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1991A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Candy Shop
Kurnitz’s Kandy is a physical symbol of Grandma. The name of the store is a demonstration of Grandma’s identity. She displays her German Jewish family name proudly above the storefront, refusing to Americanize it for the war effort. She lives above the store, making her home there and ruling it harshly; it is her domain.
It is ironic that Grandma sells candy to children because she is a bitter woman who is cruel to her own children. Grandma’s own family members observe this bitterness, and Neil Simon suggests that Grandma herself does not like candy. Grandma’s persistence in selling a product she does not like to customers she does not like suggests her determination to earn money, even at the cost of her happiness. This is much the same attitude she brings to her family, insisting that they do the hard work of providing for themselves, even if they are unhappy doing it.
The candy store also symbolizes the commonality of experiences across Kurnitz generations. When Uncle Louie catches the boys stealing from the candy store, he tells them that he and their father did the same thing many years ago. This revelation suggests the children of the family have routinely stolen from Grandma’s candy store for as long as it’s been open. At the end of the play, Grandma tells Arty and Jay she knows they have been stealing, which is why she charges them for other thefts from the store. Arty and Jay repeat the mistakes of their father and uncle and pay for it. Simon hints that the mistakes of the past are carried forward into the present.
Money
Money plays an essential role in Lost in Yonkers, driving many characters’ decisions. Since the characters live in poverty, money—and particularly the lack of money—is a constant concern in their lives. Eddie’s poor financial planning and poverty are the impetus for the play, leading him to leave Jay and Arty with their grandmother. That he would leave his children with his abusive mother for so long demonstrates the importance of money in the lives of the characters and illustrates how the drive for money leads people to decisions they wouldn’t otherwise make.
The play suggests that money and independence are related. Bella’s inability to make money keeps her dependent on her mother. Bella earns a small wage working in the candy store but spends most of her money on her hobbies. Because she is financially dependent on her mother, who believes her to have the mind of a child, she cannot break free from Grandma’s tight grip on her life. In contrast, Louie is the most financially independent of the siblings, though he achieves this by committing crimes. This adds another dimension to the relationship between money and independence, as Louie earns money almost in defiance of his mother; she refers to his money as “filthy” and refuses to touch it, even when he wants to use it to help Bella. Louie breaks the law to make money to secure not only his material but also his emotional freedom from his mother. Both Bella’s and Louie’s desire for money is therefore intertwined with the legacy of Grandma’s abusive behavior.
The rumors that Grandma has a large sum of money hidden in her store add further complexity to the symbol of money. Grandma’s keeping so much money hidden away without sharing it with her children represents her belief that they must improve themselves through suffering rather than help or affection. This further reinforces the relationship between money and independence.
Mustard Soup
When Arty falls sick, Grandma gives him a bowl of mustard soup. At the same time, the boys receive a letter from their father in which he describes Grandma making the same soup for him when he was sick as a boy. According to Eddie, the soup is the “worst tasting” thing possible. Grandma’s mustard soup is a traditional cure for Arty’s ailment, one that Grandma has brought from her homeland. The soup represents Grandma’s connection to her heritage as a traditional cure passed down across generations. Despite advancements in medicine since her own youth, she clings to the mustard soup as an ideal cure because it is an emotional link to her homeland.
Uncle Louie counts the soup as evidence of Grandma’s mistreatment of her children. For him, the foul-tasting soup is a symbol of her harsh approach to childrearing. Arty is surprised by how quickly his fever dissipates, but Louie is not, admitting that the soup “works.” This adds some complexity to the symbol of the soup, suggesting that Grandma’s unkindness is not without sense. She serves the soup in part because it has the desired effect. That the soup is effective but feels like torture implies Grandma’s parenting might not have been wholly misguided.
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