1. THE TREASURE OF LEMON BROWN
PRESENTED BY MRS. Britz

2. SETTING
Harlem, NYC
“Old tenement that had been abandoned for some months” (1).
Inside of the building it was “dark except for the dim light that filtered through the dirty windows from the streetlamps” (1).
The building had a “musty smell” (2).

3. SUMMARY
“The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers depicts the story of a New York teen, Greg Ridley, finding out the strength of love between a parent and his child. After Greg’s dad demands better grades and forbids him from playing on the basketball team Greg runs away and wanders into an abandoned tenement nearby. It is here that he meets Lemon Brown, an old blues singer who seems to have nothing of value to call his own, but after Greg and Lemon outwit some robbers trying to steal Lemon’s treasure, Lemon decides to reveal his treasure to Greg which consists of newspaper clippings praising his old blues career and a harmonica. Lemon gave these belongings to his son who was then killed in war, and the belongings circled back to Lemon. In this interaction with Lemon Brown, Greg is forced to reflect on his relationship with his own father causing him to appreciate their relationship in a new way. When he finally returns home for the night, well after curfew, he smiles to himself as he awaits his father’s impending lecture.
“The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers depicts the story of a New York teen, Greg Ridley, finding out the strength of love between a parent and his child. After Greg’s dad demands better grades and forbids him from playing on the basketball team Greg runs away and wanders into an abandoned tenement nearby. It is here that he meets Lemon Brown, an old blues singer who seems to have nothing of value to call his own, but after Greg and Lemon outwit some robbers trying to steal Lemon’s treasure, Lemon decides to reveal his treasure to Greg which consists of newspaper clippings praising his old blues career and a harmonica. Lemon gave these belongings to his son who was then killed in war, and the belongings circled back to Lemon. In this interaction with Lemon Brown, Greg is forced to reflect on his relationship with his own father causing him to appreciate their relationship in a new way. When he finally returns home for the night, well after curfew, he smiles to himself as he awaits his father’s impending lecture.

4. LITERARY DEVICES
“His father’s words, like the distant thunder that now echoed through the streets of Harlem, still rumbled softly in his ears” (1).
“Gusts of wind made bits of paper dance between the parked cars” (1).
“I got a razor sharp enough to cut a week into nine days” (2)!
The first literary device I listed is a simile. The author is comparing Greg’s father’s words to a distant thunder. Thunder is enduring. It is not over quickly like lightening. It is also likely to return whether it be in a minute, in a week, or in a month. The thunder will return and there is no escaping it.
The second literary I listed is personification. The author is giving the bits of paper a human-like quality by making them dance. This signifies that everything around Greg seems to have a carefree attitude while his world is crumbling in his eyes.
The third literary device is a hyperbole. Lemon Brown is emphasizing the sharpness of his razor to increase fear in Greg.

5. EXPLANATION LIT. DEVICES
The first literary device I listed is a simile. The author is comparing Greg’s father’s words to a distant thunder. Thunder is enduring. It is not over quickly like lightening. It is also likely to return whether it be in a minute, in a week, or in a month. The thunder will return and there is no escaping it.
The second literary I listed is personification. The author is giving the bits of paper a human-like quality by making them dance. This signifies that everything around Greg seems to have a carefree attitude while his world is crumbling in his eyes.
The third literary device is a hyperbole. Lemon Brown is emphasizing the sharpness of his razor to increase fear in Greg.

6. WORD CHOICE
“He reached the house just as another flash of lightening changed the night to day for an instant, then returned the graffiti-scarred building to the grim shadows” (1).
It is interesting that the author describes the building as “scarred” by graphiti. Choosing this word implies two different things about this building and the neighborhood. The first is that it can not be repaired. A scar lasts forever. It does not heal and it cannot be corrected. The second implication is that the neighborhood is damaged. It is not well cared for past the point of neglect. It is purposely ruined and maltreated.

7. WORD CHOICE EXPLANATION
It is interesting that the author describes the building as “scarred” by graffiti. Choosing this word implies two different things about this building and the neighborhood. The first is that it can not be repaired. A scar lasts forever. It does not heal and it cannot be corrected. The second implication is that the neighborhood is damaged. It is not well cared for past the point of neglect. It is purposely ruined and maltreated.

8. WORD CHOICE
“His black, heavily wrinkled face was surrounded by a halo of crinkly white hair and whiskers that seemed to separate his head from the layers of dirty coats piled on his smallish frame” (3).
Describing this man’s hair as resembling a halo quickly makes the reader comfortable with him. Normally a strange unidentified man living in an abandoned home would be cause for concern. The reader may feel worried for the protagonist. Instead we see him as delicate and angelic despite his ragged clothing and dirty appearance.

9. WORD CHOICE EXPLANATION
Describing this man’s hair as resembling a halo quickly makes the reader comfortable with him. Normally a strange unidentified man living in an abandoned home would be cause for concern. The reader may feel worried for the protagonist. Instead we see him as delicate and angelic despite his ragged clothing and dirty appearance.

10. WORD CHOICE
“He revealed some yellowed newspaper clippings and a battered harmonica” (6).
Battered signifies a history. This harmonica is not just used. It has been used and abused. It has been to many performances, possibly passed between musicians or family members. It has probably seen good days and bad days and everything in between. It may not be pretty (not unlike its owner) but it has been loved.

11. WORD CHOICE EXPLANATION
Battered signifies a history. This harmonica is not just used. It has been used and abused. It has been to many performances, possibly passed between musicians or family members. It has probably seen good days and bad days and everything in between. It may not be pretty (not unlike its owner) but it has been loved.

12. MULTIMEDIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WamkRSDeD8
This video helps to represent a theme from The Treasure of Lemon Brown that a bond between generations is unmatched, unrelenting, and is a treasure in itself that should be appreciated while it lasts. Will Smith explains his struggles and joys in fatherhood with trying to balance being a friend and being a disciplinarian. To me, Will Smith is representing the feelings of Greg’s father in this story.

13. VIDEO EXPLANATION
This video helps to represent a theme from The Treasure of Lemon Brown that a bond between generations is unmatched, unrelenting, and is a treasure in itself that should be appreciated while it lasts. Will Smith explains his struggles and joys in fatherhood with trying to balance being a friend and being a disciplinarian. To me, Will Smith is representing the feelings of Greg’s father in this story.

14. THEME
The story of Lemon Brown and his treasure causes readers to examine their relationships with their fathers, mothers, even their grandparents. Lemon Brown poses the question, “What else a man got ‘cepting what he can pass on to his son, or his daughter, if she be his oldest?” (7). I would argue that he might just be right. Maybe what that man is passing on it monetarily valuable, and maybe it’s just a pile of newspaper clippings and a “battered” harmonica. Either way, the emotional value remains attached. For Lemon Brown, this treasure was the only remaining connection he had with his son. It’s as if these items were a representation of a relationship that once existed… proof that it happened.
Pride radiates from Lemon Brown when he explains that his son “carrying it around with him like that told me it meant something to him. That was my treasure, and when I give it to him he treated it just like that, a treasure” (7). Lemon Brown recognizes that his son was proud of him. He provided for his son and was once appreciated. He is willing to face robbers with weapons before he would give up these items. If he did that, he would have given up his remaining connection with his son. That would have been much worse a fate.
The story of Lemon Brown and his treasure causes readers to examine their relationships with their fathers, mothers, even their grandparents. Lemon Brown poses the question, “What else a man got ‘cepting what he can pass on to his son, or his daughter, if she be his oldest?” (7). I would argue that he might just be right. Maybe what that man is passing on it monetarily valuable, and maybe it’s just a pile of newspaper clippings and a “battered” harmonica. Either way, the emotional value remains attached. For Lemon Brown, this treasure was the only remaining connection he had with his son. It’s as if these items were a representation of a relationship that once existed… proof that it happened.
Pride radiates from Lemon Brown when he explains that his son “carrying it around with him like that told me it meant something to him. That was my treasure, and when I give it to him he treated it just like that, a treasure” (7). Lemon Brown recognizes that his son was proud of him. He provided for his son and was once appreciated. He is willing to face robbers with weapons before he would give up these items. If he did that, he would have given up his remaining connection with his son. That would have been much worse a fate.

15. CONNECTION
There is a ring that I have from my dad’s mother. It was a ring that she wore on her finger for special occasions. It is solid gold flowering upon five opals. She died in 1989 at the age of fifty-two. When she died my dad was only twenty nine. Today my dad is fifty-two and as I progress into my twenties, I often look at that ring and think about the expiration date that has passed in the relationship between my dad and his mother. Gradually relationships will come to an end. What can each of us do each day to take advantage of the ones remaining?

16. CONNECTION EXPLANATION
My grandmother’s ring is a treasure that I hold on to. It is a symbol of her, but also of my dad who sits in the generation between us.
Lemon Brown knew the meaning of treasure and he places importance on the symbols we hold onto for the relationships that have existed between generations.