# On the Job Again explained — Home to Harlem

> Chapter companion for Home to Harlem by Claude McKay.

## What happens

Jake continues living with Congo Rose but remains haunted by the memory of the brown girl from the Baltimore. He works as a longshoreman, dividing his time between Rose, Uncle Doc's saloon, and Dixie Red's poolroom. Zeddy recruits him for a pineapple unloading job that turns out to be scab labor during a strike. Jake refuses to scab and confronts Zeddy about it. Later, at a buffet flat, a confrontation between Zeddy and Nije Gridley over a debt nearly turns deadly, but Jake intervenes.

## Themes in this chapter

### Labor and Class

The chapter explores the ethics of scabbing, union membership, and the racial barriers Black workers faced in the labor market.

### Masculinity and Violence

The confrontation between Zeddy and Nije Gridley escalates to a near-fatal knife attack, highlighting the role of violence in asserting dominance.

## Character check-ins

### Jake Brown

Works as a longshoreman, refuses to scab, and intervenes in the fight between Zeddy and Nije.

### Zeddy Plummer

Recruits Jake for a scab job, defends his actions, and nearly kills Nije Gridley over a debt.

### Congo Rose

Jake stays in her room, but he feels she lacks the spirit of the brown girl from the Baltimore.

### Nije Gridley

A longshoreman broker who lends money; confronts Zeddy at the buffet flat.

## Key lines

> I won't scab on nobody, not even the orneriest crackers.

Jake declares he will never work as a strikebreaker, even against the worst white people.

_Jake's moral stance against scabbing._

> I loves life and I got to live and I'll scab through hell to live.

Zeddy says he loves life and will do whatever it takes, even scabbing, to survive.

_Zeddy's pragmatic justification for scabbing._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters/v-on-the-job-again
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/home_to_harlem_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters