The Treasure of Lemon Brown

Lemon Brown is an unhoused man and a former blues musician who befriends Greg. Myers describes him as an elderly Black man with “a halo of crinkly white hair” and dirty, ragged clothes (36). The narrator observes that Lemon Brown’s voice is “brittle,” indicating that his days as a professional singer are long behind him. The elderly man acts as a tragic figure in the narrative, grieving the loss of his wife and his son. His backstory aligns with the lyrics and experiences of historical blues musicians, many of whom sang about loss and faced painful circumstances in their personal and professional lives. Lemon Brown’s sense of humor and creativity help him cope with life’s difficulties, such as when he tells Greg that he’s accustomed to greeting “Mr. Pain” (60). His survival instincts and resourcefulness evidence his courage. Although he’s afraid of the thieves, he leaves his hiding place and faces them alone to try and ensure that they won’t discover and harm Greg. Although Lemon Brown faces great hardship, he engages the world with humor and resilience. 

Lemon Brown epitomizes the story’s examination of Music as a Cultural and Personal Legacy. As a traveling singer, harmonica player, and pioneer of the Delta Blues genre in the American South in the early 20th century, the acclaim that he gained decades ago performing as “Sweet Lemon Brown” remains a formative part of his identity and a source of pride amid his current struggles (40). Throughout the narrative, Lemon Brown acts as a guide to Greg, catalyzing his growth by encouraging him to expand his perspective and develop empathy for his father. Myers highlights The Importance of Intergenerational Wisdom through the lessons that the elderly man teaches the teenager. Lemon Brown’s claim that “[e]very man got a treasure,” encourages Greg to consider what he truly values (36).

Greg’s father is a minor character who plays a key role in the protagonist’s arc and reinforces the story’s themes. Myers portrays Greg’s father as a hard-working, stern, and concerned parent who wants the best for his child. He’s proud of “how hard he ha[s] worked” to become a postal worker (40), and he tries to instill the virtue of hard work in his son. Greg’s father is a strict and engaged parent who pays attention to his son’s academic efforts and doles out rewards and consequences accordingly. Adding depth to the static character, Myers reveals that the man places such a high value on his son’s studies because he “had to leave school when [he] was thirteen” (34). Myers suggests that he wants to give his son the opportunities that he didn’t have when he was growing up, contextualizing his frustration when he believes his son is squandering the chances he would have cherished. 

Although Greg’s father only appears in flashbacks and his son’s thoughts, his decisions shape the story’s arc. At the start of the story, his refusal to let Greg join the basketball team and the way he “lectures endlessly about [Greg’s] poor efforts in math” angers the teenager, pushing him to leave his apartment and setting the story in motion toward its inciting incident—Greg’s meeting with Lemon Brown (34). Thematically, the short story’s happy ending centers on the love between fathers and sons—the defining relationship of both Greg and Lemon Brown’s lives. In the final sentence, the main character smiles when he thinks about “the lecture he knew his father would give him” (60), indicating that he now appreciates his father’s concern for him.