An Analysis Of Daniel Orozco's 'Orientation'

Response Essay for the “Orientation”

Daniel Orozco surprises his audience with his exceptional short story, the “Orientation.” The story is about a job orientation for a new employee leaded by the narrator, who is another worker. Although the new employee is the main character, he is not important to the story, not even the job he is starting. Orozco never states the identity of the narrator or the main character, but he includes a number of details regarding the other workers’ lives. The “Orientation” is unique since it seems more like a conversation: the narrator, the only one who speaks, is having a typical discussion with the main character, the new employee. In my opinion, the unusual method Orozco uses to tell the story encourages

While I was reading the “Orientation,” I felt I was the main character; it made me feel what the first day of a job feels like. In my point of view, this is the sensation Orozco wants the audience to feel. The fact that the main character does not say a word also helps to connect with the story since we can think what we want being the main character. If the story had specified what the main character was thinking about, we would have had two choices: to agree or disagree with the main character’s thoughts. In case that we agree, we would probably connect with the story, nonetheless, if we disagree, we would not feel like the main character anymore because we simply do not like what is in his

For example, the leader of the orientation points out Barry Hacker’s wife is dead, however, the story starts to become fictional when the narrator tells her ghost hunts all the employees. “We have seen her, reflected in the monitors of our computers, moving past our cubicles. We have seen the dim shadow of her face in our photocopies.” Another factor is the story of Anika Bloom, who according to the workers is able to tell when and how people will die whenever her left palm bleeds. The narrator warns the main character to stay away from Anika Bloom because the ones who get closer to her change and never return to what they were. These two stories are mysterious and probably false, but make the "Orientation" more interesting.

The "Orientation" is a peculiar story by Daniel Orozco as it seems like a dialogue between two people and contains diverse emotions in order to keep the readers ' interest. Orozco creates the typical office reality, but he also includes bizarre stories with exaggerations in several aspects, making the story hilarious and appealing. Each worker 's lifestyle is strange and adds different atmospheres and moods to the "Orientation." This story stimulates the audience to feel like they were on it, which makes it an exceptional