The Treasure Of Lemon Brown Character Analysis

“I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made on the value of things,” by Benjamin Franklin. This powerful quote can be used to describe the main conflict in Walter Dean Myers’s short story “The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” where Mr. Myers explores the ethics of Greg Ridley, a fourteen year old boy who wants to play basketball, but can't because of his low grades in math, and in The Pearl, a novel by John Steinbeck, which tells the story of Kino and his pearl, and how Kino’s song of good is mixed with that of evil and greed. In both “The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” and The Pearl, Kino and Greg have lost sight of what is truly important, and go through a series of events that make them regain it in the end.

For Greg Ridley in “The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” his father's lectures are tiresome and depressing because Greg's top priority, basketball, is not what his dad values. His dad values education and Greg’s failing grade in math stops him from playing basketball. So when it starts to rain, Greg makes an unwise decision. “He stood to go upstairs, thought of the lecture that probably awaited him if he did anything but shut himself in

The Pearl and “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” both have main characters that go through a series of events that change their perspective on true values. In “The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” Greg originally thinks that basketball is most important, but his chance meeting with a homeless stranger makes him realize that his dad and his advice are most important. Kino, the main character in The Pearl, finds a great pearl and loses his values only to regain them after the death of his son. So Kino and Greg’s experience can teach people not to be greedy and that the majority of us are rich enough as it is, for true wealth isn’t money or items, it the love and strength a family