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    A Study Guide for Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers"
    A Study Guide for Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers"
    A Study Guide for Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers"
    Ebook37 pages27 minutes

    A Study Guide for Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama For Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama For Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateAug 3, 2016
    ISBN9781535827690
    A Study Guide for Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers"

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      Book preview

      A Study Guide for Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers" - Gale

      1

      Lost in Yonkers

      Neil Simon

      1991

      Introduction

      Marvin Neil Simon, who generally publishes as Neil Simon, first published Lost in Yonkers in the United States in 1991. The play, like many of Simon's plays, draws on his experiences growing up in New York City, although many critics think it is not as autobiographical as his other plays. Lost in Yonkers was a critical and popular success and led to a film adaptation in 1993. Although many of Simon's plays had won major dramatic awards before this, Lost in Yonkers was the first Simon play to win the Pulitzer Prize. Many critics consider the play to be Simon's best work and the pinnacle of his career.

      The play was very timely. Although it is set during World War II—a setting that plays an important part in the narrative—Simon published the play as America was entering the Gulf War in the Middle East. As a result, the play's main themes—including survival, the importance of one's family, and acceptance—also seem timely, since these themes inevitably arise during any war or other military conflict, when death and other tragedies are likely. Although the play is technically labeled a comedy, it is in fact a hybrid. Critics note both the deep levels of pain that Simon explores in his characters and the humorous dialogue from certain characters, which ultimately helps the play to strike a balance between tragedy and comedy. Lost in Yonkers is available in a paperback version from Plume, which was published in 1993.

      Author Biography

      Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in Bronx, New York. Simon attended two universities, New York University (1944–1945) and the University of Denver (1945–1946). While attending the latter, Simon served in the United States Army Air Force Reserve (1945–1946), where he also served as the sports editor for one of the military publications. Simon's professional writing career also expanded in the 1940s when he started writing radio sketches with his brother Danny. The next decade, the writing duo moved to television where they worked with actors such as Jackie Gleason and writers such as Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. Although Danny left writing to

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