In Walter Dean Myers: A Literary Companion, critic Mary Ellen Snodgrass refers to ‘‘The Treasure of Lemon Brown’’ as an exemplum. This Latin word literally means ‘‘example.’’ In literature it is used to describe a story that one uses to make a point about morality. In medieval times, a priest might use an exemplum within…
Tag: The Treasure of Lemon Brown
The Treasure of Lemon Brown – Setting
Homelessness During the early 1980s, homelessness in America increased rapidly. Myers was likely aware of this dramatic increase when he first published ‘‘The Treasure of Lemon Brown’’ in 1983. As Martha Burt writes in her book, Over the Edge: The Growth of Homelessness in the 1980s , homelessness was ‘‘not an invention of the 1980s,’’…
The Treasure of Lemon Brown – Literary Elements
Dialogue Much of what we learn about Lemon Brown emerges from the conversation that he and Greg have before and after they chase the thugs away from the abandoned house. Myers uses dialogue to deliver the words of the characters as people might actually say them in real life. This helps the reader observe the…
The Treasure of Lemon Brown – Themes
Fathers and Sons The story opens with Greg avoiding his father and ends with him eagerly returning home to him. Meeting Lemon Brown, who defines his treasure as what a man ‘‘can pass on to his son,’’ changes Greg’s estimation of his father. Lemon’s fatherly guidance and protection during the encounter with the thugs opens…
The Treasure of Lemon Brown – Characters
Jesse Brown Jesse Brown is the deceased son of Lemon Brown. When Jesse was little, Lemon traveled around playing the blues in order to support Jesse and his mom. After the death of Lemon’s wife, Jessewasraised by his aunt. Lemon tells Greg that ‘‘when the war come, he saw fit to go off and fight…
The Treasure of Lemon Brown – Story – Summary
‘‘The Treasure of Lemon Brown’’ opens with a disappointed young man, Greg Ridley, sitting on the front steps of his apartment building in Harlem, New York. A storm is coming, and the narrative emphasizes that the dark weather and emerging winds reflect Greg’s own frustrated mood. The story almost immediately flashes back to a scene…