Orientation- Vedica Bhasin

This story connects with me at a rather personal level coming from an overwhelming population; the stereotypical organization or ‘orientation’ of the desks with a group of people cramped in in their cubicles that tend to reflect their personalities since they represent their only personal space; this organization also largely contributes to the monotony of the tone and the daily lives of the characters involved. Contrary to the tone, the somewhat unusual and intriguing personalities of the characters successfully manage to engage the reader. Interestingly, the writer only focuses on the negative or eccentric aspects of their lives which perhaps complements the gloomy and mysterious atmosphere attempted through the story while also contradicting the monotony of the environment. For instance, “ Colin Heavy brought her a drink. He hasn’t been himself since then.”, She has a tape cassette of penguin sounds which she listens to for relaxation.”

Week 10: Alejandra

Never Marry a Mexican by Sandra Cisneros is replete with ambiguity and changing directions. The narrator transitions somewhat abruptly from a focus on her mother, to her father, to her and her sister, to her personal love life. The title is referenced at first as something the narrator’s mother said, referring to her father. However, later on when the narrator is speaking about her affair, she is the Mexican a white man should not marry. Similarly, a lot of information is not clarified or goes unsaid until later, such as that the narrator’s mother and father were dead. Pieces of the short story come together retroactively. Additionally, at times the narrator speaks directly to Drew and his son, and we begin to see the use of “you.” Overall these changes work with the fast pace of the story and making one enthralled.

"Orientation" - Wu

Hi, Allison Wu here. “Orientation” reads as a nightmarish account of a quick glance at any generic office. The story goes into depth about the lives of the office people who work in this hell – hole. The specific descriptions of each person’s life have an extremely dark aspect to it which makes all of their lives together a depressing story. The narrator’s endless explanation of the office dynamic and rules creates a claustrophobic feel to the story as we as the reader feel trapped amongst the interpersonal dramas and horrors described so personally to us. The mundane life of working in an office is subverted through the people whom fill it with heartbreak, violence, and death. The story seems to be a satirical commentary upon the environment of the office. We are left with the sense that the unlively characteristics of daily office work can give way to a dangerous amount of death in a metaphorical and literal manner. Lost amongst learning to be part of this “in” crowd of messed up office workers, we feel the hopelessness that is perhaps a similar hopelessness felt when walking into the same office every day of your life.  

Week #9 Blog Post

Hi, Karen Chau here.

"Orientation" by Daniel Orozco is a narrative that is addressed to the reader through the use of the word, "you." The story is structured upon guiding the reader through an orientation of the office. The story begins with the reader's cubicle as the starting point. The narrator then moves on to talk about other parts of the office and other employees. Using this format yields a choppy tone. The narrator does not dwell on any particular employee or location very long. This indicates the dynamics of the office setting. Although the narrator's descriptions are short and to the point, they also provide context clues to other characters' lives. For example, the narrator mentions that Amanda Pierce "comes to work exhausted and freshly wounded each morning, wincing from the abrasions on her breasts, or the bruises on her abdomen..." (485). This allows the reader to infer that she is abused, is possibly mentally unstable and has a weak character. The descriptions about the love circles in the office also shows how much the narrator knows about relationships in the office or how obviously the characters display their affection for each other. Much of the information is not necessary, to the extent of an orientation, but the narrator says it anyways. For example, the narrator states, "we have our Biannual Fire Drill twice a year, and our Annual Earthquake Drill once a year" (486). These drills' names already consist of the frequency that they happen. By mentioning these details, the author seems to be mocking the relevance of most of the details of this orientation and whether they are necessary.

“Orientation” by Daniel Orozco

Hi, this is Lucy Liang.

The story is written in a very interesting voice. The narrator speaks directly to “you”, which we have encountered before in many other stories, especially in “Girl”, but the situation of “you” in “Orientation” is more relatable for most people. I felt like I really am the new worker being introduced to this work place. After reading through the story, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information thrown at “you”. There are a total of fifteen different people and their positions mentioned throughout this “tour”, and the narrator goes into very specific details about writing forms, health plan, vacation and sick leave policy, and even the personal lives of each of the workers. I find myself constantly forgetting names and having to flip back to check if a character has been mentioned before. This feels very realistic since orientations are usually a required routine during which you can only remember a few things. The speaker is more serious in the beginning and mentions “you may be let go” often. It comes up twice on the first page (484), once on the second page, but as the story goes on, it isn’t mentioned again until the last page, and even then, it is phrased as “if she […], she might have to be let go” instead of saying “you”. The information about who to ask for help in the first paragraph is brought up again in the last paragraph. I think that is the most important piece of information, and the only information “you” are expected to remember. The way the narrator describes everyone else seems to be saying “these people are weird, but I am normal and I am your friend.”

"Relief" - Peter Ho Davies

Cathy here!

I found it interesting that the title of this story has a few different connotations: the relief of flatulence and relief as an emotion. These are exemplified in Wilby’s relief of his flatulence, his relief when he is no longer embarrassed in a social setting with his superiors, and Chard’s long-winded explanation about how “[relieved he is] to be alive, [learn] some truth about [himself]” and learn that he “[possesses]…courage” (p. 124). Through these different connotations, the significance of the title is evident throughout the story.

I was also interested to see how Wilby’s flatulence would contribute to the story beyond being an opportunity for humour. It showcases and contrasts Bromheard and Chard’s personalities; compared to Chard who “[believes] in telling a tale correctly” (p. 125) to paint himself as heroic, Bromheard is reluctant to boast, but rises to the occasion (that is, the act of recounting experiences in great detail) when it comes to saving Wilby from embarrassment. The reader can subsequently infer that Chard is obsessed with personal glory and embellishing his own achievements, while Bromheard is a more selfless character. It is also the root from which military bonding stems – the major “[sidles] up to Wilby and Ferguson” (p. 128) after dinner to tell them about his own experiences with flatulence. Finally, it simply serves as an unconventional, humorous way to start the story and draw the reader in.

Hi from Charlie.

“Orientation” emphasizes the monotony of office life. Short sentences make the instructions disconnected, brusque, and not personal. The narrator’s voice is detached, simply feeding the reader information. Sentences begin with “those,” “these”, “this” and “that” (484), further breaking the flow and making them sound uninterested and flat. Even when discussing the love interests of all the office workers, the narrator makes a list: “Amanda Pierce...is in love with Albert Bosch...Albert Bosch...has eyes only for Ellie Tapper….Ellie Tapper...would walk through fire for Curtis Lance” (485). Their passions are only briefly mentioned in a disinterested way. Furthermore exciting, interesting, or important things are mentioned in an understated, showing how the monotony of office life transcends the cubicles. For example, the fact that Colin Heavey is doomed after buying a drink for Anika Bloom is mentioned along with the fact that, as a colleague, the listener should never give him any work (485). Similarly, as the narrator describes Barry Hacker’s wife’s death, he notes that the comprehensive medical coverage paid for her half-year hospital stay (487). In addition against the monotonous backdrop of the office, tales of the worker who can predict people’s deaths (485) and the serial killer (488) are more shocking and amusing.

Response to "Never Marry a Mexican" by Sandra Cisneros

Hi, this is Carson Patterson.
I really liked the unusual narration style in "Never Marry a Mexican". The first person narrator starts out referring to other characters in the third person, until on the fifth page she brings in the character of Drew, whom she has never mentioned before, and calls him "you". Then, two pages later, she appears to be talking to the boy, Drew's son; for the rest of the story, she alternates between addressing the two of them and occasionally referring to both in the third person. It would be easy to lose the reader with these sudden changes, but the narrator always gives just enough context that it is never ambiguous whom she is addressing; for example, the first time she addresses the son, she has just been talking about him, and the transition to talking directly to him is surprising but not confusing. This choice to alternate to whom the story is addressed contributes to the sense that the narrator is a bit unbalanced and makes the story feel more intimate (and somewhat disturbing because of it).

Hello, Josephine Surer here writing about Orientation. I really enjoyed this story because of the style in which it was written. Unlike usual stories where everything is described in a narrative style focusing on one person’s life, Orientation was laid out in the first person view but described the lives of all the other characters. Throughout the whole story, the first person described all these character’s backgrounds to another person, which explains why the majority of all the sentences start and end with “you”.

What I also liked about this story was the amount of information we got about the characters. The narrator didn’t not sum up their whole lives, instead he pointed out one trait followed by a story that gave the reader a general impression of them. This also indicates the off-putting environment the office undergoes.

Relief

This is Lena Gruber.

"Relief," by Peter Ho Davis, has an interesting combination of historical fiction and humor. There are significant stories told that incoorperate pretty gruesome stories that involve the war, thus being a valid recounting of the war, but humor is used to guide these stories but also used to lighten the heaviness of the events being told. The title is wittfully chosen because the story begins and ends with farting which is "relief" but this mention of "relief" also serves as a litterall comic relief.

(Following is what I mistakenly wrote for last week but did not know was for this week)
The title of this short story "Orientation," by Daniel Orozco, is extremely literal. The whole short story consists of a the narrator talking to "you", the reader, which the reader can easily identify as. The narrator is showing this "you" around explaining the layout of the place without too much detail, just enough that that the reader can follow along. The jumping from place to place adds a fast pace to the story, making the situation all the more realistic. The reader can easily get the sense that he/she is being introduced to a new work place, with all this new information coming at once, and the difficulty to take it in all at once. This confusion is created with the help of many "orientation" words like "over here" "over there" and much name dropping. The reader does not know much about them and does not get that much physical description either. It is very realistic because if in this position, one does not have enough time to really analyse physical feature and know or care about each name and their back story. This short story is merely just orientation and does not have a resolution, conflict, or anything of the sort. The reader wonders if it can be considered a short story or not in that case.

"Never Marry a Mexican" - Shannon Walsh (Week 9)

The narrator tends to goe back and forth with her audience. In the beginning, it seems as if she is speaking to a general audience, the readers. Then her narration shifts as she addresses a new character not previously mentioned: “Drew, remember when you used to call me your Malinalli? (113). After 11 paragraphs of addressing Drew, the narrator then abruptly shifts to speak to the son, as indicated when she says, “Because your father wanted to leave your mother with me … This happened, a long time ago, before you were born” (114).  The narrator continues to switch her audience without warning throughout the story, which contributes to the characterization of the narrator as a delusional, chaotic person. Additionally, the narration is often conversational. In the beginning she speaks casually: “…it’s not the same, you know” (109), and “But that’s- how do you say it?- water under the dam?” (112). She also poses questions directed at her audience, or to whom she is speaking at the time in the story. When speaking to Drew, she asks, “Your son. Does he know how much I had to do with his birth?” (113).  This conversational tone allows the reader a more personal view into the narrator’s mind, as if they are either having a conversation with the narrator, or listening to a conversation that she is having with another person.