Christ in Concrete

Geremio is the wife of Annunziata and the father of Paul, along with seven other children. He is a poor Italian immigrant who works as a foreman on bricklaying construction site in the Lower East Side of New York in the early 1900s. He dreams of owning a house and his children achieving upward mobility in the style of the American dream. He dies during a work accident. His death sets the course of the rest of the book and leaves the family devastated—both emotionally and financially.

Annunziata is Geremio’s widow and the mother of eight children. She met Geremio in Italy when she was still a child. They came to the U.S. after getting married. She deeply loves and misses her husband, and she initially finds it hard to keep living after his death. She decides to live for the sake of her children. Annunziata is a very devout Catholic and prays regularly to Jesus. It is implied that she dies at the end of the novel when she instructs her children to follow her eldest child, Paul.

Mr. Murdin is the corporation representative that manages Geremio’s work site. He is also known as “Boss” (padrone in Italian). He pushes Geremio to order his men to work faster, despite Geremio’s protests that it would be unsafe. During the courtroom hearing, Mr. Murdin falsely claims that the accident was Geremio’s fault, and he shows no sympathy for Annunziata or her family.

Uncle Luigi (known as Ci Luigi in Italian) is Annunziata’s brother. He feels deeply for the family after Geremio’s loss and vows to take care of them. He works as a bricklayer. However, when an accident on his job site crushes his leg, Luigi’s sense of manhood is crushed as he can no longer work on Job. He feels he has betrayed the family but finds another purpose in taking care of Annunziata’s children through cutting embroidery at home for money. He falls in love with and marries the widow Cola.

Dame Katrina is a crude, wise older woman and midwife who helps Annunziata give birth. She chides the younger women for losing their Italian ways and becoming too American. Despite her brash personality, she is kind and offers aid and tips to help Annunziata and her family. She frequently critiques the hypocrisy of the Church.

A widow like Annunziata, Cola also lost her husband in the accident that took Geremio’s life. She is a jovial lady full of jokes and life, and the men refer to her as “big-titted Cola” (4) for her large breasts. She teaches Luigi how to cut embroidery for money, and they ultimately end up getting married. Their wedding forms the backdrop for one of the book’s most festive scenes of Italian culture.

Geremino is the last child of Geremio. Annunziata gives birth to him after her husband’s death and names him Geremino after her husband. 

A hospital worker (known only as “Nurse”) cares for Luigi while he is hospitalized for his leg issues. She grows fond of him, showing that Luigi is a kind person who can easily form connections with others.

A local church official whom Paul approaches for donations to help his starving family. He’s eating a lavish meal when Paul arrives to his doorstep. Father John turns Paul away, refusing any aid except for a slice of cake. He inadvertently reveals the hypocrisy of a church that claims to help the poor but does anything but that.

One of Geremio’s co-workers, “the Lucy,” also works on the same site as Paul. The Lucy does not seem to care for the bricklaying work and suggests to Paul that he find other ways to feed his family. The Lucy’s cheek is scarred from being scratched at due to some kind of infection. His nickname is because his favorite opera is Lucia de Lammermoor, but he dislikes being referred to as such. He is a troublemaker who makes fun of Paul on occasion.

Nazone (also known as Vincenzo) is a worker on Paul’s first job site. He teaches Paul and encourages the corporation to take him on because he believes the child of a bricklayer has the right to take on his father’s trade. He becomes Paul’s godfather. He has a penchant for women, and his relationship with Paul becomes awkward after Paul discovers that Nazone is a womanizer. After the stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, Nazone asks for Paul’s help in getting a job on the skyscraper site where he works. Nazone dies in an accident on the job, similar to Geremio.

Rinaldi manages the construction site where Paul first works. At first, Rinaldi refuses to pay Paul, citing the fact that he’s too small and children his age are not allowed to work. Eventually, Rinaldi pays Paul $5 a week, which is far less than the other workers, and he refuses to give him a pay raise.

Annina is Paul’s younger sister who appears periodically throughout the novel. She verbalizes the change in Paul when he transitions from a boy to a man.

A worker on the site who instructs Paul to fill in some floor beams with mortar. He gets into an argument with Nazone, who wants Paul to lay bricks instead.

A foreman on Paul’s work site who dispenses payments and orders the men around. 

An elderly woman—possibly of Native American descent—who claims to communicate with the dead. She questions Geremio’s spirit on behalf of Annunziata and Paul, leading the family to believe Geremio is at peace.

A Jewish refugee from Russia, Louis fled to the U.S with his parents and two brothers after the czar killed his eldest brother for his revolutionary ideals. Louis experiences anti-Semitic slurs from neighborhood boys. He lives in the same tenement building as Paul, and the two become fast friends despite their differences. 

Leo is Louis’s older brother who was killed by soldiers of the Russian emperor (czar) for his ideals. Louis believes the ideals of the spirit form of Leov led to the toppling of the czar.

A man of few words who transports Annunziata and her children to the courthouse for their workmen’s compensation hearing.

The legal official who presides over Annunziata’s case for compensation as the spouse of Geremio. He’s described as a well-educated man who would be unable to comprehend the struggles of Annunziata’s family.

A neighborhood bully who mocks and yells anti-Semitic slurs at Louis. 

A coworker of Geremio who becomes Paul’s boss. As foreman, he often yells orders for the men to work faster and thus gets into disputes with them, but he still likes to joke around.

The subject of Paul’s sexual attraction, Gloria is a neighbor around Paul’s age who lives in the same tenement building. While she remains childlike in her attitude and wants to play with Paul, Paul is drawn to her growing physique and develops a crush on her. The divide between the two indicates Paul’s growing out of childhood and into adulthood due to the nature of his heavy responsibilities.