29 pages • 58-minute read
The Treasure of Lemon Brown
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Symbols & Motifs
Lemon Brown’s Treasure
Lemon Brown’s treasure serves as a motif representing both The Love between Fathers and Sons and Music as a Cultural and Personal Legacy. The elderly man’s most cherished possessions are “yellowed newspaper clippings and a battered harmonica” (60), objects that hold no monetary worth but have great personal value for him. The treasure gives the short story its title and plays a key role in its structure. Rumors about the treasure entice the three thieves to the abandoned building, a plot development that pushes Lemon Brown and Greg to work together to escape them. In the story’s denouement, Lemon Brown finally shows his treasure to Greg, revealing the trust that has grown between the two characters.
Lemon Brown’s treasure evidences his role in the cultural legacy of the Delta Blues. The decades-old newspaper clippings serve as a record of his time as “a blues singer and harmonica player who was appearing at different theaters in the South” and was once praised as “the hit of the show” (60). Significantly, Lemon Brown’s treasure is not only a reminder of his glory days but a link to his deceased son, Jesse. The value that Jesse placed on his father’s prized possessions reinforces their value as a symbol of the love between Lemon and Jesse, regardless of their lack of material worth. As Lemon says, “That was my treasure, and when I give it to him, he treated it just like that, a treasure” (60). The way that Jesse cared for the treasure while he fought in the war mirrors the way Lemon Brown protects it from the thieves, illustrating the strong understanding and bond that persists between the father and son even though they are separated by distance and later by death. Lemon Brown’s treasure possesses inestimable value because it represents his legacy as a professional musician and the love between him and his son.
Greg’s Home
Greg’s home serves as a symbol of family and reconciliation. At the beginning of the story, the main character rejects the thought of going back to his apartment despite the inclement weather because of his lingering anger at his father: “He stood to go upstairs, thought of the lecture that probably awaited him if he did anything except shut himself in his room with his math book, and started walking down the street instead” (36). Greg’s attitude toward his home shifts during his time with Lemon Brown, who repeatedly inquires about Greg’s living situation and insists that he return to his family: “‘[Y]ou sure don’t know nothing. Don’t know enough to get home when it’s raining.’ ‘I guess…I mean, you’re right’” (60). The symbolic meaning attached to Greg’s apartment means that Lemon Brown is not simply telling the teenager to stay out of the rain but rather urging him to appreciate who and what he has.
Lemon Brown’s insistence on the importance of home and family is especially impactful because he no longer has either. Greg’s return to his apartment is vital to the resolution’s happy tone. At the end of the story, Greg knows that he is going back to someone who loves him, and the author strongly implies that the teenager will be more receptive to his father’s concerns in the future. The symbolism of Greg’s movement away from his home at the start of the story and his return at the end supports the story’s structure and his dynamic growth, which focuses on his gaining a greater appreciation for his father.
The Storm
The storm symbolizes Greg’s anger at his father. In literature, authors often use the macrocosm of the weather to reflect the microcosm of characters’ inner emotions and experiences. Myers emphasizes the symbolic link between the boy’s resentment and the storm by making it the subject of the short story’s very first sentence: “The dark sky, filled with angry, swirling clouds, reflected Greg Ridley’s mood as he sat on the stoop of his building” (34). Just as the teenager’s anger creates emotional distance between him and his father, the storm pushes them apart geographically at the start of the story.
In addition to providing layers of meaning, the symbolic storm also plays a key role in the text’s structure. Greg’s frustration and unwillingness to listen to another lecture from his father propels him to take a walk in the rain, and the storm causes him to seek temporary shelter in the building where Lemon Brown is staying. During his time with the elderly man, the weather improves. This symbolizes how the lessons Greg gains from Lemon Brown help him to understand his father in a new light and cause his anger to evaporate: “The night had warmed and the rain had stopped” (60). The weather symbolizes Greg’s emotions and illustrates the protagonist’s dynamic characterization by shifting as he grows throughout the story.
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