Lemon Brown Conflict

Words: 809
Pages: 4

Learning about how characters from stories respond to challenges can influence the way a reader acts in his or her everyday life. Analyzing the way a character reacts to an event can assist the reader in making decisions. Characters often encounter problems that the reader can relate to, therefore permitting the reader to integrate the character’s actions into his or her situation. In the stories “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” and “The Dinner Party” by Walter Dean Myers and Mona Gardner, respectively, the characters Lemon Brown and the American naturalist respond both similarly and differently when they are faced with a challenge. Though the two characters’ stories have differing settings, characters, and conflicts, Lemon Brown and the American …show more content…
The American realizes that there is a cobra in the room he is having dinner in, and creates a game to distract the other guests, and to make sure no one gets hurt. Likewise, Lemon Brown is in his old tenement with Greg Ridley, the protagonist of the story, when a gang of thugs arrives to take Lemon Brown’s treasure. He throws himself down the stairs while Greg makes eerie noises to scare off the thugs. Clearly, a similar conflict is present in both stories—the characters must protect themselves and the people around them. In “The Dinner Party,” the text states, “The American comes to with a start. In India, milk in a bowl means only one thing—bait for a snake… His first impulse is to jump back and warn the others, but he knows the commotion would frighten the cobra into striking. He speaks quickly, the tone of his voice so arresting that it sobers everyone.” This quote exemplifies the fact that the scientist knows the conflict and is trying to find a solution which involves keeping the other guests safe. In ”The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” once the thugs start hollering for Lemon Brown’s treasure, Lemon Brown thinks fast to protect himself and Greg from the thugs. Additionally, Lemon Brown and the American scientist think fast during the dangerous situations and quickly devise a plan to overcome the problem. Lemon Brown tries to scare the thugs away with Greg, and the scientist makes a game to distract the dinner party guests from the