Assignment : Self – Help in ON@TCC

Prepared by: Richa Pandya

           

M.A. English Semester – 4

               

  Roll no- 26

 Enrolment No: – 206910842019003

 Email id:   richapandya163@gmail.com

                  Batch: 2018- 20

Submitted to: S. B. Gardi Department of English, MKBU

 Paper no- 13 The New Literature 

Topic: Self – Help in  ON@TCC

One night at the Call Center is written by Chetan Bhagat who is one of the most famous novelist In modern era. He wrote four more novels those are five point someone, The three mistake of my life, Revolution 2020, 2 State. One Night at the Call center is the novel based on the life of People of middle class Family in India and their Problems. It is a story of emotions which shoes pity, love, sorrow and ambitions. It denotes to the many aspect of human life. It deals with the expectation of people and the frustration after not fulfilling them.

The story of One night at call center moves around six people. There are male and three and females. All of them are working in a same group in a call center. They all are different from each other but they have a similarity in them that all of them are fed up with their lives and their lives are very messy. This story is about a night at call center which changes the lives of all the people, not lives actually it changes their way of thinking. It changes their way to deal with the problems of their lives. Shyam Mehra is the narrator of the story and is the main character of the story. He is very much confused in his life. He is a very simple boy. He loves Priyanka who has got engaged with Ganesh and NRI boy. He is sad because of it and second thing is that he thinks that his boss has cheated him and Varun. Varun is a friend of Shyam and does  not want to do the job but he wanted to keep up his standard up so he has to work there. Priyanka’s mother wants her to marry Ganesh next month but she does not want. She still feels something for Shyam. Later on Shyam tell her about the baldness of Ganesh who hid this from her. Esha sing or Eliza is an ambitious girl who wants to become a model. She runs away from house and join call center in order to fulfill her dreams. She does many compromises. But she is bluffed by a man who said her that she is not suitable for being a model. Her life represent the ambitious middle class youth who are running after blind race of materialism. Radhika’ s call name is Regima Jones. She is married. She is not happy with her mother in law. She loves her husband a lot but when she comes to know that on a radio program he selects an another girl over her. She gets very upset. Military uncle is the oldest person in call center but he is living a long life. His heart cries for his grandson but he gets more upset when his grandson asks him to stop mailing him. In this way everyone in the call center is fed up with his life but one day at the way everyone in the call center is fed up  with his life but one day at night everyone receives a call from God. God motivates everyone and tells the way to handle their problem. He suggest  them to face the problem and to do 100% of effort. After receiving the call the life of everyone is changed. Everyone starts facing the problem with full of courage and finds out the best solution. Here I talk about the character and brief story about the novel. Now I talk about the hope and despair in the Novel.

History of Self – Help

Self – help has been around for thousands of year, and it has been loved and hated for just as long. the earliest progenitor of self –help bool was an Ancient Egyptian genre called “ Sebayt”, an instructional literature on life. A letter of advice from father to son, The Maxims of Ptahotep, written circa 2800 B.C., advocated moral behavior and self-control. Ancient Greek texts offered meditations, aphorisms and maxims on the best ways to live.

# The Self-help principles

The explain of key self – help principals presented here Is followed by a preliminary outline of how the principals might be applied to some contemporary problems. But first a statement of the basic contemporary problems. But first a statement of the basic conceptualization that drives the whole movement.

The Self-Help Paradigm

Self help has revolutionized the concept of help. A traditional definition of help states that “it is an action that has a consequence of providing some benefits to or improving the well – being of another person. The problem with his formulation is that omits a vast area of help-getting that is the result of giving help. In self-help, people with problems are potential help-givers, more interdependent than dependent. It changes the helper ratio in various ways.

1.    The number of individuals involved exclusively in helpee roles is vastly reduced, and the number of helpers is increased dramatically.

2.    Even when receiving help, the receiver knows that tomorrow or even later in the same meeting he or she will provide help to someone else, thus removing the loss of status experienced by one who is always a receiver of help.

3.    The help-giving power of the entire unit is expanded because of the power that emanates from so many individuals playing the helping role.

                                        

Principles

The Peer Principle-Social Homogeneity.

Members of a self-help group possess social homogeneity; they share a similar condition whether it is raising grandchildren or being in debt, on welfare, an ex-offender, diabetic, gay or disabled. Members of the group understand each other as no one else can. The therapeutic effect and understanding of being helped by, and helping, someone else with the same problem is one of the key strengths of self-help.

Among young people, the operative peer principle is that they are influenced far more by each other than they are by parents, teachers, or other authority figures. They talk the same language and they listen to each other far more than to adults. They model themselves on other young people their own age.

 Self-Determination and New Forms of Participation.

Self-determination means that the activity is determined internally by the self-help "unit"-the individual, group, or community. This allows a new dimension of participatory democracy to emerge that is less concerned with issues of control or governance, and more with what the individual or group has to contribute. For example, if I consciously participate in an exercise and diet self-help group to improve my heart condition with like individuals, self-determination is immediate. In a subtle fashion, this represents an extension of democracy to direct participation involved in the work of helping. 

 self - help cultural in the novel One Night @ The Call Center.

The novel One Night @ the Call Center is a self – help book. We see the every character of the novel. The character represent the self – help point. The author ask three question in the beginning of the book and the message of the is climax pf the novel. Three question are, 1. What you fear?, 2. What you make angry?, 3.one thing that you don’t like about yourself?.  Every character suffer with something point for some reason. The novel reflect the problem of middle class family of India. The novel reflect the conteampry issue.

The self help point clear when the God’s call came. That time the story take a turn. Every one talk about their problem and they got a solution of the problem. So it was their inner voice come threw the call we an say that. They happy after call came and start new life and also save their life. The self - help means the own story say by written the people. thought the novel we see the every character say their problem. Varun say that he don’t like do job in Call Center but he did  because of he wants to live good and stranded life style that’s why he do the job. Shayam is good and simple boy. He confused in his life. He love Priyanka but he can’t say her. Esha she is young and she wants to become a model so she run away from the house. She bluffed by a man and he said she is not suitable for mode. Priyanka she love shayam. She love her mother so she ready to marriage with NRI boy Ganesh. For her mother happiness. Radhika she is married. She unhappy with her mother in low.  She also cheated by her husband. He choose another girl and hide this thing from her. Military Uncle he is one who oldest in this group. He also sad because he wants to live with his children. But his children don’t want to live with him they say don’t call them and don’t write letter.   All six character unhappy with job and life. After god call came all the problem solve.

We say that the in the end of their life they listen their inner voice. Because when the accident happen no one there and they all in danger. That time they listen their inner voice. Their inner voice convert in the God’s call. Every character their story of the problem and suffering with the problem. The whole story talk on the topic all six character’s problem and their issue. The self - help culture reflect all the character in the novel.

Conclusion:

The novel One Night @ The Call Center is self – help book. This thing we see in the character of novel. All character suffer with the issue. God call came and novel turn the story. Self help culture show the problem of the character. 

 

Works Cited

4 8 2012. 8 3 2020. <http://gyandaata.com/notes/english-literature/summary-of-one-night-at-call-centre/>.

Frank, Riessman. Social Policy Organizing for social and Economic Justice . n.d. 7 3 2020. <https://www.socialpolicy.org/online-only-features/916-ten-self-help-principles.html>.

Shapiro, Jessica Lamb. A Short History of Self-Help, The World’s Bestselling Genre. 29 11 2013. 8 3 2020. <https://publishingperspectives.com/2013/11/a-short-history-of-self-help-the-worlds-bestselling-genre/>.