Government Cheese

The government cheese symbolizes the poverty of Yunior's family. This cheese is implicitly food that they have been given for free by a government welfare program. Yunior hides the cheese before his date arrives so that she will not see it and realize how impoverished Yunior's family is. He then places it back in the refrigerator when his date leaves.

Family Photos

The family photos symbolize Yunior's origins living in a small village in the Dominican Republic. Yunior refers to the village as "the campo" (143). In the apartment, there are various visible photographs that depict Yunior's life in the village, and he hides them before his date arrives so that she will not be perturbed by their depictions of poverty.

Directions

The directions that Yunior gives the date's mother symbolize the division between his life and that of the date's family. Yunior has already given...