The Treasure of Lemon Brown

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.