Junot Diaz "Aguantando"

I noticed that food played a very descriptive role in the beginning of the story. It serves as an obvious symbol of economic hardship as everything is boiled, meats are a luxury, and the act of putting food on the table is characterized as a constant worry or strain on the family. I thought it was particularly interesting when it was mentioned that the kids had to skip meals in order to afford worm medicine. This presents a complex in which food is life sustaining, but it is the first to be sacrificed when other things threaten that life. Told from the perspective of the child, the story presents a sort of understanding innocence and childish hope when it comes to the father. The boy is not necessarily resentful himself of the father's absence and he dreams of their perfect reunion, but at the same time, he is aware of the way in which his absence adds to his family's struggle and the way that his resent him. The boy is aware of the family's economic situation, but he still describes his life with great exuberance through a lens that only a naive child could as he spends his time playing games and climbing trees which may serve as a form of escape for him. I was a little confused by the plotline of the interaction with the stranger smoking the cigaret who seems to get startled or scared and walk away after his mother tells him that they are visiting her husband's parents. At first I thought that this might actually be the father, but I am still confused by the role that he played in the story.