Symbolic analysis of Orientation by Daniel Orozco

A symbol is: “a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract” For example: “the limousine was another symbol of his wealth and authority” (The Oxford English Dictionary) “Symbolism [in literature] is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.” (LiteraryDevices.net) Your second paper assignment is to focus on a symbol in one of the short stories or poems we have read so far in class. This symbol should be something concrete (ie. the rocks in “The Lottery”, the shoeboxes in “Ex-Girlfriends”, or the crucifix in Dracula), and your goal is to do the following: •Explain the symbol’s denotation (its literal meaning) ◦For example: a dog is by definition an mammal belonging to the canine species, typically kept as a domesticated pet •Explain the symbol’s connotative properties (the cultural associations that come with that symbol; make sure to consider various viewpoints and associations) ◦For example: dogs often represent loyalty and companionship or, in other instances, scavengers or denoting low status or low opinion of one’s appearance or behavior •Explain to your reader where this symbol is used in the literary work ◦Where are dogs mentioned in the literary work? In what context were dogs mentioned? •Explain what an understanding of all the above things contributes to a greater understanding of the literary work as a whole ◦How does an understanding of the definition and cultural connotations about dogs, as well as how dogs are used in the text contribute to a greater understanding of the literary work? Make sure you are focusing on a symbol that truly has greater meaning and that you have the ability to write a great deal about. For example, while it is absolutely possible that Tessie Hutchinson’s dishes in “The Lottery” have greater symbolic significance, there is only one mention of them in the story. A greater focus would be on the rocks, the black box, or the scraps of paper in “The Lottery”, which are mentioned more often in the story and that have greater symbolic meaning. Focus in on repeated nouns in a text; chances are, if an author repeats a certain noun (a person, place, thing, or idea) throughout the literary work, he or she is trying to place a higher level of significance on it. Any and all of the poems and stories that have been assigned are fair game for this assignment; in addition to the poems specified on the first short paper assignment sheet, here are the short stories we have read for class: “Orientation”, “Girl”, “The Lottery”, “The Man in the Well”, “A Visit of Charity”, and “The Use of Force”. Feel free to also use Dracula, though if you intend to write about this novel for your final paper, you will want to finish the entire novel. You MAY write about the same poem you wrote about in paper 1, though make sure you are saying something NEW about the literary work and not just repeating your first paper. Make sure you analyze areas of the text that describe/mention/use this symbol as well as areas of the text that are affected by this symbol. While you do want to quote lines from the literary work and analyze these lines, make sure the bulk of your writing is your own, and make sure you are not just summarizing the literary work (aka repeating the general plot of the story/poem) but that you are interpreting the literary work (inserting your own opinion as to what it means). A good way to check this is to ask yourself: “can this portion of my essay be written by anyone who has read this literary work, or is this exclusive to my own viewpoint?” When using outside source material (the poem itself as well as any sources used for research about your symbol do count as “outside” sources), make sure you are citing using the proper MLA standards and including a Works Cited page (even if the only work you are citing is the poem or story you are writing about). Please consult the Purdue OWL for help with citation: https://owl(dot)english(dot)purdue(dot)edu/owl/resource/747/01/ The formatting for this paper is as follows: at least 600 words, double-spaced, with 12 point standard fonts (Times New Roman, Garamond, Arial, etc.), and standard 1 inch margins on all sides. Your name should be on every page. Remember to use spell check and grammar check before turning anything in. Reading aloud yourself, or having a friend (or writing tutor!) read your paper aloud is a fantastic way to catch small errors and edit for clarity.

Orientation - by Daniel Orozco
Those are the offices and these are the cubicles. That's my cubicle there, and this is your cubicle. This is your phone. Never answer your phone. Let the Voicemail System answer it. This is your Voicemail System Manual. There are no personal phone calls allowed. We do, however, allow for emergencies. If you must make an emergency phone call, ask your supervisor first. If you can't find your supervisor, ask Phillip Spiers, who sits over there. He'll check with Clarissa Nicks, who sits over there. If you make an emergency phone call without asking, you may be let go.
These are your IN and OUT boxes. All the forms in your IN box must be logged in by the date shown in the upper left-hand corner, initialed by you in the upper right-hand corner, and distributed to the Processing Analyst whose name is numerically coded in the lower left-hand corner. The lower right-hand corner is left blank. Here's your Processing Analyst Numerical Code Index. And here's your Forms Processing Procedures Manual.
You must pace your work. What do I mean? I'm glad you asked that. We pace our work according to the eight-hour workday. If you have twelve hours of work in your IN box, for example, you must compress that work into the eight-hour day. If you have one hour of work in your IN box, you must expand that work to fill the eight-hour day. That was a good question. Feel free to ask questions. Ask too many questions, however, and you may be let go.
That is our receptionist. She is a temp. We go through receptionists here. They quit with alarming frequency. Be polite and civil to the temps. Learn their names, and invite them to lunch occasionally. But don't get close to them, as it only makes it more difficult when they leave. And they always leave. You can be sure of that.
The men's room is over there. The women's room is over there. John LaFountaine, who sits over there, uses the women's room occasionally. He says it is accidental. We know better, but we let it pass. John LeFountaine 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.
Russell Nash, who sits in the cubicle to your left, is in love with Amanda Pierce, who sits in the cubicle to your right. They ride the same bus together after work. For Amanda Pierce, it is just a tedious bus ride made less tedious by the idle nattering of Russell Nash. But for Russell Nash, it is the highlight of his day. It is the highlight of his life. Russell Nash has put on forty pounds, and grows fatter with each passing month, nibbling on chips and cookies while peeking glumly over the partitions at Amanda Pierce, and gorging himself at home on cold pizza and ice cream while watching adult videos on TV.
Amanda Pierce, in the cubicle to your right, has a six-year-old son named Jamie, who is autistic. Her cubicle is plastered from top to bottom with the boy's crayon artwork - sheet after sheet of precisely drawn concentric circles and ellipses, in black and yellow. She rotates them every other Friday. Be sure to comment on them.