The Role of Paul in “Christ in Concrete” by Pietro di Donato Anonymous College

Pietro di Donato’s “Christ in Concrete” was originally a short story but later expanded as a novel and published 1939, a decade after the Great Depression. Paul, who is the story’s main character and protagonist, is the eldest son in an Italian immigrant family who assumes the role of the family’s breadwinner upon the death of his father, Geremio. Paul’s immediate transformation into involuntary adulthood after his father’s death in the novel that exposes him to extreme experiences of injustice, and drives him to a religious transformation not only reflects the struggles of immigrant families to fit in the American society but also the failures of capitalism and the church to support those who are vulnerable.

“Concrete in Christ” is a story that significantly revolves around a young boy, Paul, who is 12 at the onset of the novel. Being the eldest son of the immigrant family, he is forced to assume his father’s role when his father, Geremio, dies in a horrendous accident at a construction site where he works. Fearful that his mother and the seven siblings will soon face starvation, he finds a job as a bricklayer and works unrelentingly hard under unsafe and depressive environment. Later, when he approaches the local Catholic...