Orientation - essay

Orientation – Essay ” Orientation” is written by Daniel Orozco. Daniel Orozco was born in San Francisco in 1957, he still lives in San Francisco and teaches creative writing at Stanford University. ” Orientation” was published in The Seattle Review in 1994. ” Orientation” starts in medias res, and a person, who could either be female or male, so I’ll go with male, is shown around at his new job. He is going to work in an office where they sit in small cubicles. The guy who is showing him around, tells him about different persons and how things work around the office. They have some very special rules, and all the other persons we hear about working at the office has some special personalities. But as long as it doesn’t interfere with the peoples working pace, it is all right. They also have a very good health insurance, so if they family gets in an accident they don’t have to pay a dime, and therefore not worry, and can keep on working. One of the persons we meet in the text is Barry Hacker. He steals food in the refrigerator, as an outlet for his grief for the loss of his wife and unborn child. Barry Hacker talked with another person called Anika Bloom, and she told him how his wife would die. He has not been himself ever since she died, and she is haunting him and the office. She has been seen in the monitors walking around the office, and has left messages on the voicemail, where you can hear her voice and a baby. By stealing food I think Barry Hacker is trying to get attention from the other people in the office, but they are all really just staying to themselves, and doesn’t really mingle with each other. They are just putting a little extra in their lunch for him, but they don’t help him otherwise. There is also a big love drama going on in the office.” Amanda Pierce, who tolerates Russell Nash, is in love with Albert Bosch, whose office is over there. Albert Bosch, who only dimly registers Amanda Pierce’s existence, has eyes only for Ellie Tapper, who sits over there. Ellie Tapper, who hates Albert Bosch, would walk through fire for Curtis Lance. But Curtis Lance hates Ellie Tapper. Isn’t the world a funny place? Not in the ha-ha sense, of course.” This shows how obsessed people are with finding true love, it also shows how people are striving to get what they can’t have. People always wants more, than what they have, and in their search for it they forget, what is around them, including the people who needs help. In this office, there is also a serial killer. His name is Kevin Howard. They are not supposed to know what he really is, but it doesn’t matter, because he is the fastest typist in the office, and he only kills strangers so they are safe from him. The way our main person is told just to act surprised when the police finally finds out about Kevin Howard is very absurd. It is so wrong in many ways, because in some way they are all accomplices in his murders, because they know about it, and chose not to tell the police because he is good at his job. The people in the office are very superficial, they actually now a lot about each other, but they all just act like they don’t know a thing, so they don’t have to do anything about it, and can keep living their life. I think that this could be any office in some big company to be honest. I imagine that this could be the everyday life for some office workers. Because it describes quite well how our society is today.