The Treasures of Lemon Brown

Springboard Short Story Unit

Understanding the Plot

Answer the following questions about the plot of the story.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the best summary of the story? 

• Greg wants to be on the school basketball team, but he doesn’t play well enough. So, after talking to Lemon Brown, he decides to work harder. 
• Greg wants to play basketball, but his father won’t let him. So, Greg runs away to get back at him.
• Greg wants to play basketball, but his father wants him to improve his grades. Lemon Brown’s story helps Greg better understand his dad. 
• Greg is more interested in basketball than academics. When he meets Lemon Brown, he realizes he needs to go to school to be successful. 

Multiple Choice

The setting of the story is— 

• a rainy night in Harlem 
• early morning in a southern city 
• a blues club in the 1940s  
• afternoon in the school gymnasium

Multiple Choice

In the exposition of "The Treasure of Lemon Brown," Greg is in trouble because

• he is in danger of failing math
• he has made friends with Lemon Brown
• he has missed basketball practice
• he has been playing basketball

Multiple Choice

What is Greg’s main problem at the beginning of the story?

• Greg’s father wants him to get a good education. 
• Greg is allowed to play high school basketball. 
• Greg is failing math and is allowed to play ball with the Community Center. 
• Greg’s father says he cannot play ball because he is failing math. 

Multiple Choice

There is conflict between Lemon Brown and three men because— 

• Lemon Brown owes the men money.
• the men decide to beat up Lemon Brown. 
• Lemon Brown breaks into an empty house. 
• the men want Lemon Brown’s treasure. 

Multiple Choice

What motivates the thugs?

• They think that Lemon Brown's treasure is worth a lot of money
• They know that Lemon Brown was once a famous blues singer
• They believe that Lemon Brown has reported them to the police
• They think that Lemon Brown's harmonica is made of solid gold

Multiple Choice

Why were the harmonica and newspaper clippings so important to Lemon Brown?

• The treasure was a reminder of hard times.

• The items had been collected by Lemon Brown’s wife.

• His son had the items with him when he was killed at war.

• His son was going to war, and Lemon Brown wanted his son to remember him.

Multiple Choice

Which statement best expresses Greg's feelings at the end of the story?

• He is worried that Lemon Brown will not be all right

• He feels that Lemon Brown's treasure is worthless

• He wants to help Lemon Brown find a place to live

• He has developed a new appreciation for his father

Understanding the Vocabulary

Answer the following questions about the vocab used in the story.

Multiple Choice

"Down the block there was an old tenement that had been abandoned for some months."

Based on this passage from paragraph 6, a tenement is an...

• car

• street

• apartment

Multiple Choice

"“You OK for a youngster,” the old man said as he tied the strings around his leg, “better than those scalawags what come here looking for my treasure. That’s for sure.”

Which word is a synonym for scalawag?

• trickster

• nice guy

• pirate

• friend

Multiple Choice

"The dark sky, filled with angry, swirling clouds, reflected Greg Ridley's mood as he sat on the stoop of his building."

What is a stoop?

• A stairway entrance outside of a residence.

• A sidewalk.

• A bird.

• A chair.

Multiple Choice

a shaking or trembling movement

• commence

• eerie

• intently

• tremor

Multiple Choice

can refer to a bar, a restaurant, a shop, or pantry

• commence

• stoop

• bodega

• impromptu

Multiple Choice

A section of Manhattan in New York City

• Chicago

• Pittsburgh

• Harlem

• New Jersey

Multiple Choice

weird, especially in a frightening way

• ominious

• musty

• impromptu

• eerie

Multiple Choice

If something is "musty" it is

• fresh smelling

• fruity smelling

• moldy and stale smelling

• dirty smelling

Multiple Choice

made or done on the spur of the moment

• stoop

• vaulted

• tentatively

• impromptu

Understanding the Figurative Language

Answer the following questions about the figurative language used in the story.

Multiple Choice

Identify the figurative language in the following sentence.  
The voice was high and brittle, like dry twigs being broken, surely not one he had ever heard before.

• simile
• metaphor
• onomatopoeia
• personification

Multiple Choice

Read the following sentence.
“Don’t try nothing’ ‘cause I got a razor here sharp enough to cut a week into nine days!”

What does Lemon Brown mean by his use of the figurative expression “sharp enough to cut a week into nine days”?

• Time can be broken into distinct pieces
• The knife has magical powers.
• There are nine days within a week.
• The knife is extremely sharp.

Multiple Choice

Read the following sentences.
_{“And you want to play basketball?” His father’s brows knitted over deep brown eyes. “That must be some kind of a joke. Now you just get into your room and hit those books.”}

Based upon these sentences, what is the meaning of the idiom “hit those books”?

• Strike the books to release tension
• Focus on the information to increase learning
• Use the books for target practice
• Read the books to study how to make the basketball team.

Multiple Choice

Identify the figurative language in the following sentence.

Gusts of wind made bits of paper dance between the parked cars.

• simile
• metaphor
• personification
• hyperbole