What happens in chapter one?

This scene sets the tone for the novel, combining a series of fictional events within the context of the real life of Lithuanian immigrants in early twentieth century Chicago. The mood and tone is happy and exuberant because a wedding is taking place but somehow there is anxiety. We find out that all the people including the married couple must be at work at the factories by 7:00 am or they will be fired. The sense of merriment is tainted by the reality of their very hard lives.