It is a chilly March day. Italian immigrant Geremio works as a foreman overseeing workers on a construction site in the Lower East Side of New York in the early 1900s. His colleagues comment on the harsh working conditions in America and the obligation to feed their family. The narrator refers to this working situation as “Job.” The workers sing and talk about faith in Christ and the comforts of home to keep up their spirits. We learn that Geremio has eight children and that it is the week of Easter. He’s also about to purchase a house, which brings him—and his pregnant wife Annunziata—great joy. At home, Annunziata asks Geremio why he does not discuss his work.

It’s another gray, cold day at work, or “Job.” Geremio does not love Job. In fact, it is clear that he hates it. He worries about hunger, but Geremio must do this work to pay for the responsibilities of his family. He looks forward to going home where there is no boss. Geremio’s boss (padrone in Italian), Murdin, complains that the workers are not doing their job quickly enough, even though Geremio says that making the building structure safe takes time.