Brian S. Ekasala
ENC1102-170861
Professor Martin-Buchanan
May 29, 2013
Journal Response #2
Retrospective Narration of “Orientation” “Orientation” written by Daniel Orozco (McMahan 454) was to me, mostly a comical read. I have that dark sense of humor I guess. I liked the way the story was presented. By using primarily first person narration, I felt as if I was the one being shown around the office on my first day of work. I found myself conjuring up question after unanswered question as I was being pulled into a story line about yet another employee. I became less interested in the particulars of who exactly was the narrator, the intended audience, or the office itself; and more interested in the inner workings of the office dynamic. I guess I had not much of a choice since the narrator nor the audience was ever clearly defined. One thing that did break the cycle was when the narrator pointed out “this is your phone.” and “That was a good question. Feel free to ask questions” (McMahan 454), this was the basis for my assumption that I was the intended audience. I found it interesting that there were a number of things “you may be let go” (McMahan 454-457) for. This phrase seemed to squelch my desire to clarify just who the audience was meant to be. No one wants to be “let go” not even me, the reader! The setting was immediately painted with the comment, “These are the offices and these are the cubicles” (McMahan 454). By painting such a dull picture in the beginning, the individual stories became a lot more colorful. The narrator seemed to go from dull to dramatic several times throughout the read. This effectively drew me in, by using statements like “He subjects her to an escalating array of painful and humiliating sex games, to which Amanda Pierce reluctantly submits” (McMahan 455). Discussing such a taboo subject in the context and setting of the read,