Narrative Techniques and Youth-Centric Storytelling in Chetan Bhagat's Novels

Creative writers use umpteen narrative techniques and narrative devices to capture the attention of the reader, to convey what they want, and also to give certain artistic and emotional effects to a story. They provide deeper meaning for the reader and help them imagine or visualise situations. Key narrative techniques fall into five categories namely setting, plot, character, point of view, and style. In the present paper, a study is made on the storytelling techniques and other stylistic devices employed by Chetan Bhagat in his early novels Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center and a later novel One Indian Girl. In the recent past, Chetan Bhagat became the biggest celebrity in the Indian literary landscape evoking the most intense reactions. Readers love him for telling stories to which they feel they can relate. His stories and style of narration reflect the life of a modern-day youth in a big way, and that is why youngsters are crazy about his writings because the readers see themselves being reflected in the novels. His writing style tends to be simple, with linear narratives, and vivid storytelling. His columns and articles are written in simple English and discussed in the Indian Parliament. Most of his novels follow first-person narration. The tone of his novels is always maintained as that of a jolly good college boy who does not care about the travails of the day-to-day.