The new employee is the main character in Orozco’s story “Orientation.” Orozco only concentrates on relationships of other employees and makes the new employee a mere observer in the new setting.
The narrator refers to the main character using the second person voice. “You must pace your work” (Orozco 2).However, the narrator tells the story using the first person voice. “What do I mean? (Orozco 3).
The new employee does not speak in the story although we can see that there was dialogue. “I’m glad you asked that” (Orozco 3). We assume that the new employee asks a question but the narrator does not include it in the story. By so doing, the narrator demonstrates that the new employee who is the listener is completely insignificant.
Similarly, the job that the new employee is to partake is insignificant to the story. The story is set in a conventional office environment. “Those are the offices and these are the cubicles” (Orozco 1). The narrator uses this setting to make the lives and behaviors of employees appear more disgraceful.
The narrator shifts from orientating the new employee to the general office to revealing about personal lives of the employees. He tells us about Russell Nash and his lust for Amanda Pierce. Apparently, discussing such information in an office environment is absurd.
Assuming that the narrator and the new employee had never met before, the narrator ought to have restrained from discussing sexual relationships of other employees because he risked embarrassing the listener. Under normal circumstances, such discussions only happen between people who are close to each other.
The narrator maintains a professional stance by refusing to comment on different sexual aspects of the employees. He only narrates events without sharing his mind about the same. For instance, he describes what Amanda’s husband does but he refrains from offering further comments (Orozco 4). This adds value to how the new employee perceives the information that the narrator shares.
The narrator also tells the new employee about his job limitations. “There are no personal phone calls allowed” (Orozco 1). The narrator then explains to the new employee about what he can do when there is need for an emergency call. “If you must make an emergency phone call, ask your supervisors first” (Orozco 1).
The narrator uses a professional tone in these two communications and creates a professional mood, which contradicts the idea of unprofessionalism when discussing personal information about employees.
The objects in this piece of literature are the offices and the cubicles. “Those are the offices and these are the cubicles” (Orozco 1). The narrator uses these objects to indicate to the new employee that he must act professionally as he is an official environment. These objects also instill caution in the new employee and that is why he listens cautiously and asks questions where he does not understand.
The story ends with a climax, as the narrator tells the new employee about Kelvin Howard, who is a serial killer. “Kevin Howard sits in that cubicle over there. He is a serial killer” (Orozco 5). The narrator goes ahead and explains how Kelvin mutilates people in town. He, however, clarifies that Kelvin only kills strangers.
By doing so, the narrator intends to assure the new employee that he is safe because under normal circumstances, an employee would scare the idea of working with a prominent serial killer.
The narrator also portrays Kelvin as a hardworking man who does not let his non-professional activities interfere with his professional duties. Supposedly, the new employee feels secure because he will not be a stranger to Kelvin, but a professional colleague who Kelvin cannot attack. Therefore, this conclusion works because the aim of orientation is to make people comfortable in new settings..
Works Cited
Orozco, Daniel. Orientation, New York: Faber & Faber, 2011. Print.