The cheese is a symbol of a certain amount of poverty within the story, specifically the economic disadvantage of the protagonist and his family. It is a food that is commonly provided by social services to beneficiaries of welfare, food stamps, or other government-run benefit programs for the underprivileged. The cheese is mentioned twice in the narrative, and both times the narrator hides it in preparation for his date’s arrival at his home. The narrator also makes a note to take the cheese out of his hiding place after the date is over. This shows that there is a performative aspect to his courtship ritual beyond a superficial appearance, as well as an apprehensive attitude toward disclosing his true class and race to others.

Diaz employs an effective use of cross-cultural language that is emblematic of a dissonance between the narrator and parts of his world. Terms such as tia, campo, and malcriado appear throughout the dialogue in the text. Much of the narrative is in English, so the