Although there are some similarities between the attitude of Daniel Orozco in Orientation and Jamaica Kincaid in Girl, there are austere differences in their attitudes towards their audience. In the short story Girl, Jamaica Kincaid portrays a mother imparting advice to her daughter as she prepares to face life as an adult. The short story by Kincaid shows the demeanor of a mother who admonishes and advices at the same time. On the other hand, Daniel Orozco explores the premise that all workplaces have secrets and gossips upon which people judge others. In his presentation, Daniel Orozco has the speaker in the short story narrates all the judgement and gossip regarding everybody in the office. This paper will compare and contrast the attitudes of the narrators in the two short stories towards their audience.
Although for different reasons and motivations, the two narrators have a caring and compassionate attitude towards their audience. In light of their relative ignorance of the new places in their lives, the narrators take it upon themselves to inform their audience of the intricacies and the rules of engagement. Jamaica Kincaid portrays a caring mother arming her daughter with life skills for life on her own. The admonishment coupled with the advice serves to show the daughter the seriousness of the responsibilities she is taking on as she prepares for independence in life. For instance, the mother advises her daughter on how to talk, dress and act. The mother also instructs her daughter on how to love men (Kincaid 55).
The narrator shows care and compassion for his audience when he takes it upon himself to orient the new employee on the idiosyncrasies of the workplace. Although the orientation touches on issues many people would deem trivial, the fact of the matter is that office gossip, especially in the manner described by the narrator can affect someone’s ability to dispense one’s duties. As such, the initiative by the narrator to orient the new employee shows due care and compassion.
The two narrators regard their audience and incapable of making decisions, and as such need guidance on matters that are their personal prerogative. For instance, Kincaid portrays a mother who does not think her daughter can make decisions on how to eat, talk and love. In her advice, the mother tells her daughter how to walk on certain days of the week, when to wash different colors of clothes and how to eat. These are decisions that are normally the prerogative of the individual (Kincaid 55).
The narrator in Orozco’s short story does not believe his audience has the capability to manage the workload throughout the day. In an almost patronizing demeanor, the narrator explains that the employee should fit a heavy workload into the eight-hour working day and spread a small workload so as to appear busy throughout the day. The narrator also explains to the employee how to relate to other employees (Orozco 50).
Even with these similarities, some differences remain conspicuous between the attitudes of the narrators towards their audience. For instance, the mother in Kincaid’s short story has a negative attitude towards her daughter. Her advice to her daughter, especially on how to act and love was motivated by her belief that her daughter was destine to become a slut (Kincaid 55). Conversely, the narrator in Orozco’s short story does not portray a negative attitude towards his audience.
In conclusion, the two short stories portray two narrators offering information to their audience. This is motivated by different reasons. Arguably, the two narrators show compassion and care for their audience, especially because they believe themselves to be patrons. On the same note, the two narrators do not believe in the capabilities of the audience to make decisions, even on simple issues. However, the narrator in Orozco’s short story has a positive attitude that motivates the information he gives his audience. Conversely, the narrator in Kincaid’s short story believes her daughter is destined to become a slut, a negative attitude that motivates the advice he gives her.
Works cited
Kincaid, Jamaica. Girl. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. Schilb, John, and John Clifford. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. Print.
Oriozco, Daniel. Orientaion. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. Schilb, John, and John Clifford. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. Print.
