Who is the main character in The Treasure of Lemon Brown?

About, “10% of students have bad grades,” and Greg Ridley is one of them, but little does Greg know that he will meet a special man that will change his perspective on life. Greg Ridley, the main character in the story, wants to enjoy the simple things in life but his failing grades relent him from doing so, but Greg ends up meeting Lemon Brown, a homeless man, that will change the way Greg thinks about his lifestyle. In the short story, “The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” by Walter Dean Smith presents the theme that although a person might not be as fortunate as others, the smaller things in their life can mean just as much. Lemon Brown is not as lucky as the people he is surrounded by. The first reason Lemon Brown isn't as fortunate is an obvious…show more content…
To start off, Lemon shows that he is proud of his past when he brings up his old profession. Based on the story, when Lemon brings up his old blues career, Lemon says that, “They used to say I sung the blues so sweet that if I sang at a funeral, the dead would commence to rocking with the beat.” This shows that Lemon was great at the blues and is very proud of his past. Also, Lemon shares an amazing part of him with Greg. According to the text, when Lemon tells Greg that Jesse had Lemon’s treasure while in the war, Lemon exclaims, “If you know your pappy did something, you know you can do something too.” This statement shows that Lemon is happy that Jesse got to enjoy Lemon’s past success. To finish up, Lemon shows Greg an interesting piece of his past. Based on the text, when Greg sees Lemons treasure for the first time, he reads, “ [Lemon] had been the hit of the show.” This newspaper headline shows that Mr. Lemon Brown had once been a big hit in the blues industry. In Conclusion, the short story, “The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” by Walter Dean Smith illustrates the theme that although a person might not be as fortunate as others, the smaller things in their life can mean just as

Who is the main character in The Treasure of Lemon Brown?

Words: 1179

Pages: 5

The Treasure of Lemon Brown" Short Story Script Michelle: The short story, “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers begins with a young boy named Greg Ridley sitting outside his apartment building. He is frustrated over his math marks and the fact that he may not be able to join his dream basketball team. He gets up to take a walk and clear his mind, but a thunderstorm begins.

Noah: Greg seeks shelter and finds an old tenement building. Inside the building, he discovers an old, homeless man named Lemon Brown. Lemon asks Greg if he is looking for his treasure, which makes Greg curious. Before he can ask anymore questions, three neighborhood thugs break in with a pipe, looking for Lemon Brown’s treasure. The two scare them off

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Newspaper clippings and an old harmonica. In this story, there are the protagonists, Greg Ridley and Lemon Brown, vs. the antagonists, the three neighborhood thugs. (Next Slide) Carson: The plot of “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” revolves around a young boy; Greg Ridley discovering an old man; Lemon Brown who shows Greg his treasure and teaches him an important lesson in life. The conflict occurs shortly after Lemon Brown tells Greg Ridley of his treasure. Three neighborhood thugs stumble upon the house and attack Lemon Brown, demanding to see his treasure. Greg and Lemon are able to fight off the thugs by scaring them away.

Lillian: The setting helps set the mood for the entire story. At the beginning of the story, when Greg is mad and upset so he leaves his house to take a walk, it is stormy which shows the reader how his mood has affected the weather.. At the end, it had stopped raining and was nice out. It reflects Greg’s mood. When Greg first discovers Lemon Brown’s house, it gives off an ominous, abandoned

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Noah: My favourite element was how the author was able to change the character’s mood quickly without adding a second personality to that character. Carson: I think that the author was able to use several dynamics that made me feel like I was in the story and also added more suspense. Lillian: I really enjoyed the mood in this short story because it was able to manipulate who I thought was the protagonist to who actually was the protagonist in this story. Michelle: A point in this story that we can compare to is when Greg goes out on a walk to calm his nerves. Walking outside calms our nerves as well and it would help us forget about the stressful things. However, if we saw that it had started to rain, we would also try and walk home instead of staying outside.

Noah: We would also not seek shelter in an unknown building unless it was desperate. Instead, we would wait it out in a familiar place such as a grocery store or bus


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Who is the main character in The Treasure of Lemon Brown?

In the realistic fiction story, "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" by Walter Dean Myers, Greg Ridley a fourteen-year-old boy, starts off by getting a lecture from his dad, about his poor grades in math. Greg is upset and he walks away from his house to get some alone time. As Greg is walking, a rainstorm strikes. While he is trying to find shelter, he comes upon an abandoned apartment complex. As Greg walks in he finds out that he isn't the only one in the apartment, an old man named Lemon Brown is also there. Lemon is there for a different reason though. He is trying to hide his treasure, an old harmonica, from the neighborhood thugs. The thugs weren't successful in getting Lemon's treasure. Greg returns home with a valuable lesson learned, that he should value things in life. Greg changes from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. At the beginning, Greg was careless about his grades in math. Next, he was curious when looking for a place to hide from the rain. Lastly, he ends the story off by being a caring person when he continuously asked Lemon Brown if he was okay. Greg Ridley was a dynamic character who changed from careless, to curious, to caring, after his encounters with Lemon Brown.

In the book, "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" Greg Ridley was a careless boy. On page 1 it states, "But the principal had ended the suspense early when she sent the letter saying, that Greg would probably fail math if he didn't spend more time studying." He was careless because

Student Activities for The Treasure of Lemon Brown


Greg Ridley was a normal kid. He had bad grades and his father wouldn't get off his back about it. Greg was a keen sportsman but due to his bad grades, his father forbade him to play. His father thought sports was a joke and life was all about education and finding a good job.

During the story Greg went to an abandoned building, looking for something to do on a Friday night. With the rain of the night coming in, Greg started to explore the old house. During this, he came across some unwanted encounters, or so he initially thought.

In the house, he met an old man named Lemon Brown, who lived in the building and was rumored to have a treasure. Initially, Lemon threatened Greg with a razor until the man realized Greg meant no harm. Greg didn’t believe the stories, but he asked Lemon about the treasure anyway.

Lemon Brown tells Greg that he used to be a famous blues singer, but he didn’t sing anymore because he's too old and life became hard. Lemon said he hadn’t given up on the blues but more so it had given up on him.

Thugs often came to bother Lemon, which happened during the story. They were after his rumored treasure, but Greg decided he wanted to help defend Lemon against the thugs, which was a scary encounter for both Lemon and Greg.

After they got rid of the thugs, Lemon slowly let loose about his treasure and said to Greg that the only treasure he had was his music and family memories. The author showed that every man had a treasure, it's just about finding it. Greg didn’t understand what Lemon Brown meant at first, but he eventually realized that music and family were the most important things in Lemon Brown's life - therefore his treasure.

What is The Treasure of Lemon Brown About?

The Treasure of Lemon Brown is a heartwarming story about the importance of following your dreams and finding what matters in life. Walter Dean Myers does an excellent job of illustrating the power of music, and family and how they can be seen as treasures if you get the right perspective. This is a great story for readers of all ages.

The underlying message of The Treasure of Lemon Brown is that it's never too late to follow your dreams. Lemon Brown was a blues singer who gave up his music when he got older, but he eventually realized that it was the most essential thing in his life.

The book offers some deep messages and lessons to children, but it's also a fun and easy read. The story is fast-paced and engaging, and readers will be eager to find out what happens next. Walter Dean Myers is a masterful storyteller, and the Lemon Brown story will be educational as well as fun for the students.

Lemon Brown's Story

After the thugs had left, Greg and Mr. Brown continued talking. Lemon tells Greg of his accomplishments in the past as a well-known blues singer and harmonica player. He used to be famous.

In addition, he had a wife and son but when his wife died, his sister-in-law took custody of the boy which resulted in Lemon losing contact with him over time. Furthermore, once he lost access to his son, Lemon's musical abilities began to decline because he no longer had a reason for playing music.

What is Lemon Brown's Treasure?

When Mr. Brown's son went off to war, Lemon didn't know if he would come back home. Later on, he found out that his son had died in battle and was carrying around his dad's old "mouth fiddle" as well as some clippings of when Lemon used to play back at home.

His son must have really loved him to carry those things around with him while at war. When Lemon realized this, the clippings became his treasure because they meant so much to him now knowing what they represented - the love of a father and son. Lemons also believed that every man had their own sort of treasure like this one.

After the thugs were gone and Lemon had finished his story, the rain let up. Lemon told Greg he should go home, and Greg agreed. As he walked home, though, he started thinking about the lecture his dad was going to give him. It made him smile a little—he realized he’d learned something important from Lemon tonight. He now understood better what his own father did for him and why it mattered. So, now students know what Lemon Brown's Treasure is.


The Treasure of Lemon Brown Questions

So, The Treasure of Lemon Brown questions are:

  1. Why does Greg want to go inside the building at the start of the book?
  2. Whom does Greg meet in the abandoned house?
  3. How does the author describe the voice that spoke to Greg in the house?
  4. How does Greg meet Lemon Brown?
  5. What does the voice say to Greg?
  6. How does Lemon Brown support his family?
  7. What happens to Lemon's treasure when someone tries to steal it?
  8. How do Lemon and Greg stop the thugs from stealing his treasure?
  9. What are the treasures beheld by Lemon Brown?
  10. What is the name of Lemon's son, and what happens to him?
  11. How have Greg's thoughts towards his father changed throughout the book if we compare them between the start and end of the story?
  12. The Treasure of Lemon Brown analysis in school is excellent for learning material because it is easy to read and is only a short story. It will not take a huge amount of time or lessons to break the story down into its core messages.

    Regardless of its short format, the story packs a lot of deeper meaning messages within. Students will get to take on life lessons from the book, to prepare them for life in the real world as adults.

    Student Activities Available For The Treasure of Lemon Brown

    Four resources are available at StoryboardThat for teachers to use with children. Each develops a different set of skills for the children and breaks down the core elements of the story. For The Treasure of Lemon Brown post reading activities for students, these resources are:


    Plot Diagram

    The Treasure of Lemon Brown plot diagram allows students to break down the story into a beginning, middle part, and ending. Students can then build up each part of the story with key scene storyboards and graphics. They can add a description to each scene to bring the storyboard to light.


    Settings

    The settings within the story are described in great detail, which allows children to use their imagination and understand what it would be like if they were there. This helps with descriptive writing as a follow-up activity.

    There are three settings within The Treasures of Lemon Brown – the kitchen, the street, and the abandoned home. Children can then design each setting with pictures and graphics to create a storyboard while adding text to describe the mood of each setting.


    Themes

    The themes of the story are very clear and concise. This allows children to understand them quickly and develop their own opinions on each one. These can be used as a starting point for debates and discussions in class.

    There are three themes – father-son relationships, poverty, and treasure. Each one is developed well enough that children can understand them, but leave room for interpretation. Their interpretation can be illustrated within this recourse with graphics and The Treasure of Lemon Brown text.


    Comparing Prospective

    The story is a good example of how different people can have different interpretations of the same event. This is due to the difference between prospective and retrospective theories.

    The perspective theory states that people make decisions based on their goals and what they want to achieve. Retrospective theory, on the other hand, states that people make decisions based on their past experiences.

    Lemon Brown's perspective is retrospective, as he looks back on his life and what he has achieved. Greg's perspective is prospective, as he looks to the future and what he wants to achieve. This can be used as a starting point for discussions on different theories and for summarizing The Treasure of Lemon Brown and how they can be applied to real-life situations.