I found Orientation by Orozco to be quite amusing and funny when the new guy was finding out all the shocking backgrounds of the employees. All the descriptions of the employees were odd and seem to make you have an awkward impression of them. The person showing the new guy around talked about the employees’ “not so pleasing side” and didn’t say anything good about them. He talks about the employees’ life that you wouldn’t know just by seeing them a few times. It shows how all people have issues outside of their work. When he got up to the serial killer, I was a bit shocked that they would even hire a serial killer…
I don’t think this is a “normal” orientation and if I was the new person, I would feel uncomfortable hearing the stories. The introducer is revealing secrets about the employees that are not needed to do your job. I wouldn’t have remembered most of their names by the end. Maybe the introducer wants the new guy to fit in more but it would make me feel uncomfortable. I also noticed, the introducer said weird things about the employees but nothing about himself.
One manager is extremely stuck up*
Alice, I completely agree that this was a rather weird type of orientation, and far from “normal”. Orientations are supposed to inform you about your job, duties, responsibilities and norms. As the tour guide explained all of this, he definitely added unnecessary information about almost everybody.
Then again, we should realize, this is life. I work as a cashier, and every week girls are fired and new ones are hired. I have been there well over a year; you can pretty much call me a survivor. Anyway, when the new girls come to work, I train them, and give them an orientation similar to the one in this story. I tell them what is expected of them, how our breaks work, where everything is, what is to be touched and left untouched, and in addition I mention some of the people. One manager and extremely stuck up and rude, another one is sarcastic and strict, and the other is extremely hyper and funny but makes us work the hardest. I tell them which employees are better to stay away from, and which ones are the most lovable. I don’t talk bad about anybody, I just mention what might be useful to know.
You also mentioned something that I had not realized. The introducer speaks of everybody but himself. Makes you wonder… is he a compulsive lair? A story teller? Some one who wants to know everybodys personal life? Or is he like me, just trying to help the new employee know how to approach each person. Its hard to tell what kind of person this introducer really is.
Maria Londono
I liked what you said about “fitting in”, maybe Orozco’s purpose in writing this short story is to have us compare/relate how the world looks from an unlabeled orientation. When you are new at a job, you find it difficult to fit in and you will most likely question why your coworkers are enduring an uncomfortable setting. This story also shows how the society keeps mum even though they know/they see bad things being done; allowing a serial killer and a pervert to work for the company because of the quality of their work no matter how insane they may be. Isnt it amazing how courageous people get when they want to get paid?
When you said you didn’t think this would be a normal orientation, I thought maybe the author meant to exaggerate his ideas because people often scare the “new kid” to remind themselves that they are superior and to remind the new worker that he is new and he needs to respect those who were in the company before he was. The whole point of this orientation was to overwhelm the newbie with a handful of unnecessary information in order to make him second-guess the job he applied for. Orozco is just making a joke out of how people find happiness even in the most unlikely situation (scaring the newbie) and how we don’t take the initiative to make our living a more joyful and comfortable setting.
– Janelle Franco