epiphany before he dies in a way that mimics Christ's death forces him to realise the way that he has been systematically cheated throughout his life by those in power.

What is so key about Paul's conversion to atheism therefore is that he has learnt the lesson that his father only learnt moments before his death. Paul recognises the tremendous irony in his father's death and the comparison with Christ's death. Jesus of course died for a specific purpose and managed to save mankind as a result. As Paul stands beside his father's grave, he sees that Geremio's death on Good Friday, the day of Jesus' death, is a meaningless sacrifice that is the direct result of the unfeeling nature of men whose treatment of immigrants as nothing more than cheap labour "justifies" such sacrifices. Paul's adoption of atheism therefore represents his resistance of the forces and ideologies that have so successfully trapped his parents and immigrants as a whole.

Paul's journey from Catholicism to atheism mirrors his coming of age and his disillusionment with American society and capitalism. The Catholic Church is not described as a compassionate institution that helps the immigrants' community, but as detached and oblivious to their needs. Thus, together with Job and the Boss, the Church functions to keep immigrant workers in their own marginalized place. The text personifies the work as a bricklayer that Paul is forced to take up at the death of his father in the material god Job. The narrative draws several parallels that make readers associate this material god to the spiritual one of the Catholic Church. Capitalism and Catholocism are seen as supporting one another and as conniving in the exploitation of workers. Thus, Paul's rejection of the Catholic Church implies that he is no more willing to be exploited by others. Commentators of the novel such as Fred Gardaphè and Maria Paola Malva (see second link below) point out that, by rejecting Catholicism and Capitalism, Paul is becoming "his own God" and is taking his own fate in his hands.

The conversion of Paul from Catholicism to atheism comes as a product of both the cruel way in which his father died and the kind of life he lived and experienced during his life. Let us remember that this short story shows the reality of life for Italian construction workers, who worked incredibly long and hard hours and put their lives in danger every single day. What sustains them, however, is their Catholic faith and the way that they hope their children will enjoy a better life. Paul's response to the way in which his father dies and the kind of crucifixion which he suffers is to therefore reject the Catholic faith of his parents and tradition, as he sees it as a negative constraining force that keeps his people suppressed and experiencing a terrible life.

The way in which the death of his father represents Paul's coming of age therefore is linked with Paul's rejection of Catholicism. Paul shuns both his position of being exploited as a migrant form of cheap labour and of being a Catholic, because of the church's failure to support his family. This rejection means that Paul is able to embrace a kind of freedom from the hold of superstition and exploitation on his life.