“Grandma- Stay as you are, Bella, for you don't know what these feelings would do to you. Bella- Yes, I know, mom. I know what other things you're talking about... Because they happened to me, mom... They happened because I wanted them to happen. When I was in school, I let boys touch me... And the boys I met in the park... And in the movies... Even the boys I met here in the store... The nights when you slept, I went down and there I let in... And not just boys, mum... men too. I needed someone to touch me, mom. Someone to hold me. To tell me I was pretty... You never told me that” (150) David Richards states: “Bella makes a heartbreaking plea for the right to love someone who will love you in a world where the most ironclad emotions normally prevail” ( qtd. in Kerschen, Louis). Her behavior affirms the redeeming qualities of human instinct and empathy as opposed to the hatred of reason represented by her grandmother. Bella prefers the warmth of relationships to mechanical responsibilities. “She is as warm and congenial as she is emotionally arrested” (92). He says to his grandmother: “Beautiful, but I'm smart, mom. He may be as smart as a child, but some children are smarter than adults. Some adults I have seen are very stupid. And very bad. Grandma: You have no responsibilities, Bella. And responsibilities are not meanness. Bella, I don't want to be your responsibility. Then maybe you won't be so mean to me” (150)Bella claims her private space and her right to behave as an individual. Throughout the show, Bella struggles to become an adult and think for herself. Her struggle against the incongruity of existence is portrayed in the following lines: “Grandmother- You want to know what you are, Bella… You are a child. The doctors told me that... middle of paper......tPoquette, Ryan D. “Critical Essay on Lost in Yonkers.” Ed. Davide. A. Galen. Vol 18. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. < http://go.galegroup.com.vlib interchange. in> Web. January 19, 2013.Dale, Alan. “Lost in Yonkers.” Web. December 22, 2012Kerschen, Louis. "Critical Essay on Lost in Yonkers." Dramaturgy for students. Ed. David .A. Galens Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. < http://go.galegroup.com.vlib interchange. in> Web. January 29, 2013.Lahr, Joan. “The Master of Partying: Neil Simon's Comic Book Empire.” Network. December 10, 2012Scott, Andrew. Comedy. New York and London: Routledge, 2007. PrintRod, Martin. Psychology of humor: An integrative approach. New York: Elsevier Academic Press, 2007. Print Koprince, Susan. Understanding Neil Simon < http://www. books.google.co.in> Web. 21 December. 2012.