The Kurnitzes, a Jewish family living in Yonkers during World War II, have experienced significant trauma in their family life, and over the course of Lost in Yonkers, each member attempts to escape that trauma in their own way. Neil Simon ultimately traces this trauma to the antisemitism Grandma experienced as a child, when she witnessed her father’s murder at an anti-Jewish political rally. Grandma carries the mental scars of this trauma into adulthood, and they are visible in her harsh treatment of her family. Simon renders Grandma’s trauma physically as well, through a pronounced limp resulting from a serious injury during the rally where her father died. Orphaned and alone, she uprooted her entire life at great expense, using all the money she could have spent on repairing her injured leg to flee to America with her young family.

With this backstory, Simon both illustrates the effects of Grandma’s own trauma and shows her attempts to save her family from the troubles that she faced. For example, Grandma’s sacrificing her own healing to take her family out of a dangerous, antisemitic environment indicates an awareness that her children may face the same dangers that traumatized her.