Orientation

Orientation

The short story “Orientation” consists of an introduction to a bizarre office. The narrator, who never actually introduces himself, is assumed another coworker in the office. He seems to be omniscient, knowing very personal information about the fellow coworkers lives. It is not hard to wonder what the true identity of this man is, and how he knows everything about everyone. Why does this man care?

The narrator can be seen as an insecure man who doesn’t have much in his life. He is not married, and has no children. His relationship with his family is poor, because his phrasing of thoughts can come off negatively. “John LaFountaine is harmless, his forays into the forbidden territory of the women’s room simply a benign thrill, a faint blip on the dull flat line of his life (Orozco, 19).” To put down John LaFountaine in such a way, we can assume that the narrator is insecure. He may even be a little jealous that John has something to look forward to everyday, even as odd as entering the woman’s bathroom.

This man has worked in this office for a majority of his life. He has worked with the same people for equally as long and has come to know them better than he knows himself. Because this man has little to nothing in his life, he thrives on the excitement of other people’s lives, whether it is good or bad.

He describes about a dozen people. Ranging from the receptionist, to a reserved woman with a sex-craved maniac for a husband, we find out extremely personal facts about each and every character. We can assume the information has been found out through the boredom and monotony of this mans life. Because he has no drama or excitement in his life, it is easy for him to find out everything about the people closest to him. Awkwardly enough, he shares this information with the new employee while giving him a tour of the office. Is he trying to scare this new employee into rethinking this job? Why would he share such intimate information with a complete stranger?

This story is an attempt at friendship. This narrator is trying to reach out to this new employee. He is trying to show him that even though he knows everything about everyone, he is still very much alone. His idea of a professional tour of an office turns into an inside look at everyone in the office’s lives with random rules and prohibitions in between.

In the beginning of the story, the man tries to keep himself composed and confident. He describes a part of the office, and gets a little personal, and then quickly remembers what he is supposed to be doing, and gets serious. For example, when speaking about Amanda Pierces relationship with her husband; “She comes to work exhausted and freshly wounded each morning,