Lost in Yonkers

    Neil Simon's 'Lost in Yonkers' was recently performed at the theatre that I work in and as Front of House (an usher), I got to watch it about seven times. Normally, watching the same show over and over again can be a tedious part to the job but it was different for this particular play as I found it very interesting. Lost in Yonkers is set in 1942 and it is the story of two Jewish boys, Arty and Jay Kurnitz, who have to live with their intimidating, German immigrant grandmother for a year, so that their father can work to pay off the debts he incurred with their dead mother's hospital bills. As well as their scary grandmother, the boys also have to deal with their mentally challenged Aunt Bella, who is sweet but childlike in behaviour and their Uncle Louie, who is a 'bag man' for the mob. The play opened in 1990 and was very successful, winning the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as a few Tony Awards.

   I lived with my own grandma for while when I was little, so I could relate to the two protagonists but thankfully, my grandma was not as mean as Grandma Kurnitz. Simon's play is brilliant in the way that not a single word of dialogue is wasted; every word means something and adds to the story. The build up to Grandma Kurnitz's first entrance is superb and one of the best that I've ever seen as the two brothers are comically terrified of her: 'I once drew a picture of her, called it 'Frankenstein Grandma'.

  Beneath the play's comedic aspect, the subtext is painfully touching. Grandma Kurnitz is a character who has been hardened by loss and a harsh childhood and is ruled by the idea that one has to be 'like steel' in order to survive, which is why she does not stand for any sign of 'weakness' within her family. It seems that being like steel is a part of Germanic culture as the character of Marta in Francine Rivers' 'Her Mother's Hope' too is harsh on her children to harden them and make them 'strong'. Yes, it is vital that children are raised as strong individuals but this can be done in a loving manner. This is the main message in Lost in Yonkers because all of Grandma's children grow up to be flawed in a way and immensely scared of her, due to the coldness that they have endured at her hands. Aunt Bella's vulnerability is especially believable and heart breaking; she is a challenged thirty-five year old woman that is still living with her mother but dreams of marriage and her own family.

  Despite being set in the 1940s, the play is not dated at all and the sole setting of Grandma's apartment is never dull either as multiple sets would distract and move focus from the importance of the dialogue. The play is mainly from the perspectives of fifteeen year old Jay and thirteen year old Arty and as they are children, it is interesting to see their takes on the complex relationships. One minute flaw is that the first half is a tad too slow and long but the main character development occurs in the second half, where Jay and Arty mature and begin to understand their grandmother better.

  Lost in Yonkers is a great play and it is very thought provoking. Thank you very much, Mr Simon, for making work enjoyable for ushers such as myself.

Rating 4/5 ****

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Yonkers-Drama-Plume-Simon/dp/0452268834

Guest poem: My teacher

My brother, AD, recently wrote a poem for a competition and I think it is great and I want to share it. I may not say it all the time but I'm really proud of my brother; he is an amazing artist, so good that he's doing his Graphics GCSE two years early! Here is some of his art work and his poem which is called 'My Teacher'. Nice one, bro! A review of Neil Simon's 'Lost in Yonkers' will be up soon.

My teacher

First day of class,
As I am excited for maths
I am eager to learn
Hoping that this teacher isn’t stern
He hands out a paper
Like 10 seconds later
I fill it out,
With no reason to doubt
So many things to say,
Then it is taken away
Later on a shock, from what my teacher has said,
In his exact words "what’s going on in your head?”
My mind spins,
As he continues and cheerfully grins
And looks at me as if I have sinned
What have I done?
That he hates me a ton
I took extra classes to make my work load lighter
I don’t want to be a writer or a cage fighter
I just want to be a little bit brighter
Nagging me saying I am doing wrong
Well it is you sir who doesn't respond
You hear my continuous cries for help
But yet you decide to go help someone else
At first I ignored and forgot it,
But know I have decided something needs to be done about it
The time to listen
Or create an un-biased system
It’s not fair
Knowing that your own teacher doesn't care
Because sir if you don’t care about our education
Then what is going to happened to our generation?

Things Fall Apart (the centre cannot hold...)

  Right, my university applications have been sent off (eek!), I am marginally less stressed and I can finally give my two cents on Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'. This novel means a lot to me and even though I only read it recently, I've come across it many times.  First of all, the title derives from William Butler Yeats' 'The Second Coming', a poem that I studied for AS English Literature and can still quote:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre,
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Things fall apart;  the centre cannot hold,
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...

Ah, Yeats.

   Achebe clearly likes his poetry and in fact, I studied one of his poems, 'Vultures' for GCSE. He is arguably Nigeria's most prolific author and Things Fall Apart was one of the first African novels to receive global and critical acclaim. So, as a Nigerian, this novel is part of my literary heritage and in my opinion, it is one of the best books ever for understanding colonisation from the native's perspective, (I am totally unbiased, of course). The novel shows how British colonialism affected Nigerian culture and society,  both for the better and for the worse.  Things Fall Apart is seen by many as Achebe's response to Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness', which depicted Africa as a primitive black hole of uncivilised natives who lacked reasonable customs and Achebe disproves this. His novel is set in the late nineteenth century amongst the Igbo people in the fictional village of Umoufia, one of the nine villages of Nigeria. It follows the life of Okonkwo, who is a reverred warrior, leader and wrestler in the village. The character is ruled by his fear of being seen as a 'weakling' like his father was and his determination to be the complete opposite of his father leads to conflict as British Christian missionaries descend on the village.

   Although the novel is written in English, Achebe is brilliant in the way that he uses various parables and tales to show the richness and nuances of the Igbo language, sometimes incorporating Igbo words into sentences, with the glossary of words at the back of the novel aiding with comprehending. Some critics state that the novel is difficult for non-Nigerians to understand because some of the names are too complicated (Nwoye, Ikemefuna and Unoka for instance), but these names are essential to understanding the novel as they have meanings and elucidate the characteristics of the various characters. Also, Achebe choosing to write the novel in English could be seen as a further example of the power of colonisation.

  Things Fall Apart presents both the good and bad side of colonialism. On one hand, Christianity was good for the people Umofia in the way that it saved the lives of many. Prime example are the many innocent twin babies that used to be seen as evil abnormalities in Nigerian culture. As a twin, I am particulary touched by this. On the other hand, Achebe also shows how a huge change such as Christianity (the Igbo were immensely spiritual and reliant on wooden gods pre-colonisaton) can completely eradicate and change a culture and have negative effects on people like Okonkwo that refuse to submit to it.  The novel is one with many layers, interpretations and themes that range from gender, society, success and failure to the aforementioned theme of colonialism  vs the native and tradition.

   Things Fall Apart is an absolutely brilliant novel that I would recommend to everyone regardless of ethnicity or colour. I loved it so much that it is the book that I have chosen to discuss alongside Maya Angelou's poetry and Wilkie Collins' 'The Moonstone' for my A2 English Literature coursework. The book will also give you a glance into an aspect of Nigerian history, and it was interesting for me to learn about this aspect because I am from the Yoruba tribe, not Igbo, so before reading the novel, I was not too familiar with their customs. In regard to the novel, I would like to end on this question: Can colonialism ever be justified though?

Chinua Achebe, you make me very proud to be a Nigerian.

Rating 5/5 *****

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-Apart-Pocket-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141023384

Busy bee

An opportunity to use the snazzy app (Windows Phone, hollaaa)! I haven't been here in a while and I miss it but I've been immensely busy. UCAs has pretty much taken over my life and you'd think that three A Levels wouldn't be stressful for someone that did five AS subjects last year! A review of 'Things Fall Apart' will come soon, as well as a review of Neil Simon's 'Lost In Yonkers', I promise!