Alfieri, a lawyer and narrator, introduces the setting of Red Hook and the cultural tension between ancient Sicilian codes of honor and modern American law. He establishes a sense of impending doom, reflecting on his role as a powerless observer to the 'bloody course' of human tragedy.
ALFIERI: You wouldn't have known it, but something amusing has just happened. You see how uneasily they nod to me? That’s because I am a lawyer. In this neighbourhood to meet a lawyer or a priest on the street is unlucky. We're only thought of in connection with disasters, and they'd rather not get
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