Answer:
The Treasure of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers is a short story written in third-person narrative. It revolves around a young boy named Greg, who is upset about his father’s decision not to allow him to play basketball on account of his poor grades. An encounter with an old man named Lemon Brown changes Greg’s perspective, reminding him about the importance of his relationship with his father, which transcends anything else.
The story begins with the main character, Greg Ridley, sitting at the stoop of his building. The dark clouds reflect his mood as he thinks back to the lecture he received from his father- all because the Principal had sent a letter to their house about Greg’s failing math grade. Greg’s father had to leave school at 13, and he is disappointed that Greg is wasting the opportunities presented to him. Greg wants to play for the community center’s basketball team and even got accepted, and now he wouldn’t be able to. His father’s condition was the status of his next report card, which turned out not to be up to par.
As a storm begins to brew, Greg decides against going home immediately, despite knowing the scolding he would receive for it. Instead, he heads to an old, abandoned tenement where impromptu checker tournaments were often held. The door is slightly ajar, so he pushes it open only to see that it is completely dark. He sits for a while, thinking about his father, who worked extremely hard to pass the test to become a hospital worker, and whom Greg is very proud of. At this time, he feels a movement and realizes he is not alone in the warehouse.
Suddenly, an old man named Lemon Brown threatens Greg not to try anything, for he has a razor that could “cut him up”. Greg is appropriately terrified but calms himself down enough to respond. They exchange names and Greg finds out that Lemon Brown stays in that warehouse. Brown asks whether he’s one of the “bad boys” looking for his treasure, and when Greg says that if Lemon Brown has one, he’s not looking for it, Brown tells him that every man has a treasure. As their conversation continues, Lemon Brown reveals that he used to sing the blues before he hit some hard times. He used to have a son, “knotty-headed”, just like Greg.
They hear a noise, hiding immediately when a group of thugs enter. They are looking for Lemon Brown’s treasure, and have been frequenting the warehouse for the past few days for that very purpose. As they shone the light, almost finding Lemon Brown, Greg howled to divert the attention, thereby allowing Brown to tackle the thugs and chase them away. It is then that Lemon Brown shows Greg his treasure- some old newspaper clippings and a worn harmonica. The clippings showed Lemon Brown performing the blues in various places almost fifty years ago, praising him as the hit of the show. Lemon Brown explains that he used to make enough money to feed his wife and son well, until his wife died and his son, Jesse, went to live with his aunt. He grew up to become a soldier and was killed in war. When Lemon Brown went home and got the letter, he was also sent all the things Jesse used to carry- those old clippings of his father and a fiddle. It touched Brown’s heart that those clippings of him were so important to his son, and they became his treasure.
When Greg asks whether this treasure holds more value than a pipe, Lemon Brown says that a man’s greatest treasure is what he can pass down to his child. It is after this that they part ways, Lemon Brown assuring him that he’d be okay. Greg decides against telling his father about the old man. Instead, when he rings the bell to his house, he thinks about the upcoming lecture he would surely receive. This time, he smiles.
