Editing Neil Simon (section)

=== Themes and genres ===
Theater critic [[John Lahr]] believes that Simon's primary theme is "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are  "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with. They often have difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging".<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|5}} According to biographer Edythe McGovern, there is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people, [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", while still making people laugh.<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|11}}

McGovern adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings",<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|188}} an opinion shared by author Alan Cooper, who observes that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts&nbsp;..."<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|46}}

Many of Simon's plays are set in [[New York City]], with a resulting urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes include marital conflict,  infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement and fear of aging. Despite the serious nature of these ideas, Simon always manages to tell the stories with humor, embracing both realism and comedy.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|11}} Simon would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny&nbsp;... try and make it real and then the comedy will come."<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|232}}

"When I was writing plays", he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny&nbsp;... I wanted to tell a story about real people."<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|219}} Simon explained how he managed this combination:
{{Blockquote | style=font-size: 100%; | text=My view is, "how sad and funny life is." I can't think of a humorous situation that does not involve some pain. I used to ask, "What is a funny situation?" Now I ask, "What is a sad situation and how can I tell it humorously?"<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|14}}}}

His comedies often portray struggles with marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody issues. After many twists in the plot, the endings typically show renewal of the relationships.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|7}}

Politics seldom plays in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society as a whole, despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|9}} Drama critic [[Richard Eder]] noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy", where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|14}}

Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|5}} He has said, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|10}} In ''Lost in Yonkers'', Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage (as opposed to his parents'), and how children who are deprived of it in their home, "end up emotionally damaged and lost".<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|13}}

According to Koprince, Simon's Jewish heritage is a key influence on his work, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the ''Brighton Beach'' trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|9}} Simon himself has said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view",<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|9}} explaining, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it."<ref name="Playboy" /> This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor&nbsp;... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|9}}