One night at the call center, a novel by Chetan Bhagat, published in 2005. The story of the novel revolves around 'the six characters' who are working in connexions call center in Haryana, Delhi. The novel comprises many aspects such as; popularity, globalization(Thomas Friedman: The world is flat), mennipean satire, self-help book aspect(God representation), and some advises to build one's self-confidence: one should write down what fears one, why one is getting angry on and often and why one dislikes one another.
The entire book is representing characters who seem to be weird in their nature not something stemming from inheritancy but a disturbance the life itself has created poisoning the entire living leaving untraceable past footprints immersive in misdoings. Therefore the drama of life, gathering its pile in anyway, marching in consistency, unrealized the entire trauma.
If one is writing down the fears and weaknesses, teasing one can understand the reasons and the factors working behind such stimulation, working over this it can be overcomed.
The story furthers in such a way that we see an aspect of popular culture, where there is lack of sustained plot, characterization and intellectual analysis. It seems though it is serving philosophical depth from the writer's side, it doesn't seem so as having this aspect, because at surface level the novel only portrays the seemingly problems and difficulties of six characters happening in their lives. Where one can find impact of globalization on work culture and society, the perceived anti-american sentiments(which seems to be coming out from insecurity and inferiority), how from the struggle of youth and all these conflicting factors, there the need of self-helpbook is emerging. Which seems to be an actual twist in all six characters's lives.
The life of Radhika, who is fade up of her mother-in-law's behaviour and wants to take divorce from her husband Anuj, craving for the past life to be enliven, freely, which was lived with her own mother.
It seems, even though the self-help book is providing help in the form of God by giving some advises; to be self-confident, to utilize some intelligency with a bit of imagination and to accept failure. She has understood but seems to be using it in facilitative mode by supporting her own view towards living life and that is why rather coping up with disturbing aspects of life and facing it, she chooses to escape the situation.
It compels us to think
Whether this is an appropriate approach, and if it is, then how far is this viable?
At what extremity escapism is approached by a person?
Is escapism good for keeping humanbeing intact with the happenings of life?
If it is then, is it something that is making new way for a humanbeing?
Is Radhika's attitude towards living life, morally justifiable?
Etc etc..
When one reads Priyanka's character(when postulating complaint in front of the God), she wants to live her life on her own rather than confining to her mother ideals as 'family a source of support, one should obliged to it'. But she thinks why life goes in this way and why my mother doesn't want me to live on my own and can't believe that it is in one's reach and search to find one's happiness and that her mother must do on her own, rather than expecting from her daughter.
Similarly Military uncle's character can be seen, how by being once with his daughter-in-law, he had detested the way she was living: to have a job and staying lately outside. Which wasn't objected in US like country but can be scathingly criticized in India like country. But now he realizes that this attitude has left him alone from his own belongings, why he hadn't given enough space to her daughter-in-law to live the way she wants to live and interfered in their lives. It is their life their choice, how one can interfere as such?
Observing all the happenings in this novel, it seems as the conflict between traditionality and modernity going on. What at once seems to be conflict, emerges out later on as confinement to the established rules and regulations by sensing and observing the time and the time where people are living. One can't make someone comply to self-perceived beliefs and notions because it also keeps on evolving. What was popular at once, becomes obsolete/odd after sometime. Nevertheless such people don't understand the simple thing and try to force someone to do so. Similarly the another party, who conforms to modernity, isn't able to understand that one can't uproot the sense of traditionality in this way, but has to tread forward, getting sense of traditionality as T. S. Eliot emphasizes upon in "traditional and individual talent essay that: One must have pastness of past as a base to invent a new novel modern concept. And in this manner only, the life can be lived peacefully rather than in anarchy.
Thus this is how globalization, anti-american concept(where they're represented satirically as following their ways of living life, in inferiority and insecurity) self-help book aspect, menippean satire, the world is flat idea by Thomas Friedman ae reflected in this novel.
Works Cited
Bhagat, Chetan., "One night at the call center."
Friedman, Thomas., "the world is flatten."
Menippean Satire.
Popular Literature.
Self-help concept.
Anti-American Sentiments.
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