The document provides a summary of the novel "Revolution 2020" by Chetan Bhagat. It discusses the plot, which follows three friends in Varanasi, India - Gopal, Raghav, and Aarti. Gopal becomes involved in corruption while Raghav fights corruption as a journalist. The narrative technique uses first-person narration from Gopal's perspective to recount events from his childhood to age 26.

1. S. B. Gardi Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University
Narrative Technique in Revolution 2020

2. Present by: Divya Parmar
Email : divyaparmar07012@gmail.com
Roll no: 5
Sem: 4
Paper: 207 Contemporary Literatures in English
Topic : Narrative Technique in Revolution 2020

3. Table of Content:
● Introduction of The Novel Revolution 2020
● Introduction of the Author
● Brief Summary of The Novel
● Narrative technique
● Conclusion
● Citation

4. Introduction
"Revolution 2020" is a novel written by Indian author Chetan
Bhagat and was published in 2011. The story is set in the city of
Varanasi, India, and revolves around the lives of three friends -
Gopal, Raghav, and Aarti - who are pursuing their dreams and
trying to make a mark in their respective fields. The novel
primarily deals with themes of corruption, love, ambition, and
the education system in India. The title "Revolution 2020"
alludes to the year 2020, which is the year the main characters
aspire to bring about a revolution in the country. The book was
a commercial success and became a bestseller in India.

5. Introduction of Author
Chetan Bhagat
Chetan Bhagat is a prominent figure
in contemporary modern Indian
literature. He has gained immense
popularity as a novelist, columnist,
public speaker, and screenplay
writer.

6. Bhagat is known for his ability to connect with young readers and
address the issues that are relevant to them. Many of his works deal
with the aspirations, struggles, and dreams of the Indian youth.
Some of Bhagat’s most popular works include Five Point Someone,
The 3 Mistakes of My Life, and 2 States. These novels have been
widely read and have been adapted into successful Bollywood
movies.
Bhagat's writing style is simple, relatable, and engaging. He has a
knack for storytelling and is able to keep his readers hooked till the
very end.

7. Baghat's literary works have earned him the status of a youth icon in
India. He is admired for his ability to connect with young people and for
his insightful commentary on contemporary Indian society.
In addition to his writing, Baghat is also a sought-after public speaker. He
has given talks at various events and conferences and has been invited
to speak at prestigious institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology
(IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
Baghat's contribution to Indian literature has been widely recognized. He
has been awarded the Society Young Achievers Award for Literature and
the Teacher's Achievement Award for Literature.

8. Brief Summary of The Novel
"Revolution 2020" is a novel written by Chetan Bhagat, which was published in
2011. The story is set in Varanasi, a small town in India, and revolves around three
main characters: Gopal, Aarti, and Raghav.
Gopal and Raghav are childhood friends who grew up together in Varanasi. While
Raghav is ambitious and wants to bring about a revolution in India, Gopal is more
pragmatic and wants to make money. Aarti is a beautiful girl who becomes the love
interest of both Gopal and Raghav.
The novel explores the themes of corruption, love, and ambition. Raghav becomes
a journalist and exposes corruption in the education system, while Gopal becomes
involved in corrupt practices to make money. Aarti is torn between her love for both
Gopal and Raghav.

9. The story takes a dramatic turn when Gopal becomes involved in a
scam and is arrested. Aarti chooses to be with Gopal, despite his flaws,
and Raghav continues his fight against corruption.
In the end, Raghav's efforts pay off as he is able to bring about a
change in the system, and Gopal learns the value of honesty and
integrity.
"Revolution 2020" is a story that explores the complex realities of life in
India and the struggle to achieve personal and societal change in the
face of corruption and inequality.

10. Narrative Technique
● Setting of the Novel: Varanasi, Kota
● Time: 1996 to 2011
● It narrates Gopal’s story from 10-year school kid to 26-year
young director of Ganga Tech College
● The most important of the structural narratologists, Gerard
Genette, has argued for the autonomous nature of the
literary text. Genette’s work has been of particular use to
literary critics for his attempts to develop models of
reading texts in a rigorously analytical manner.

11. ● Narrative Time: This is the time indicated by the tense (of the verb) in the
narrative. The narrative instance also indicates the time of narration with
respect to the events narrated. For example, the narrative may be about a
future event, where the narrative time is prophetic. Or, in certain novels
the time of the event is the time of the narrative itself, where the event is
narrated as it happens. In third person narratives there is no such time of
narration, because the events are recounted from a perspective outside
the narrative itself. Thus narrative time refers to the time of the narrative.
● Narrative Levels: This refers to the relation of the acts narrated to the act
of narration itself. For example, is the narrative a story within a story?, for
instance. The narrator may tell us about the events which lead to his
narrating to us the story of a character

12. ● Order: The sequence of events in relation to the order of narration. An event may
have taken place before the actual narration (analepsis, or flashback); it may not
yet have taken place, and is merely anticipated/indicated/predicted by the narrative
(prolepsis); discordance between “story” narrated and “plot” (actual order of events
as they occurred and not the order in which they are narrated: anachrony); or there
may be a movement between one narrative level and another (metalepsis).
● protagonist is already rich person when he narrates his life events – flashback to
childhood, struggle to clear AIEEE & JEE, life at Kota, poverty, father’s ill-health &
death, nexus with MLA Shukla-ji, starting Ganga Tech College, ups-downs in
relations with Aarti and Raghav.
● Frequency: The separation between an event and its narration allows several
possibilities.
1. An event can occur once and be narrated once (singular).

13. 2. An event can occur n times and be narrated once (iterative).
3. An event can occur once and be narrated n times (repetitive).
4. An event can occur n times and be narrated n times (multiple).
[Events: JEE/AIEEE, father’s death, poor life, starting a private college etc]
● Duration:
● Narrative time: One Single Day – around 24 hours
● Discourse time: Approximately from the age of 10 years to the age to 26 years of
Gopal: 16 years of discourse time

14. ● Voice:
● Where the narration is from?
Intradiegetic: inside the text.
Extradiegetic: outside the text.
● is the narrator a character in the story?
Heterodiegetic: the narrator is not a character in the story.
Homodiegetic: the narrator is a character in the story.

15. Mood :
● distance, or the relationship of the narration to what it narrates. This distance may
be diegetic, or a plain recounting of the story (the presentational level which is
immediate as language or gesture), or mimetic, or representing the story (or
character, situation, event)
● Very near to the man (Gopal) who suffered, struggled and got successful.
● perspective or what is commonly called “point of view” or focus. Focus determines
the extent to which the narrator allows us to penetrate into the character or the
event. Narrative focus alternates and shifts throughout the narrative and may be of
two kinds (1)paralipse: where the narrator with-holds information from the reader
which the reader ought to receive according to the prevailing focus; (2) paralepse:
where the narrator presents information to the reader which the reader according to
the prevailing focus ought not to receive.

16. ● Personal, one sided. Gopal’s perspective. (Loose stone / lacuna to deconstruct
entire narrative for Deconstructionist reading)
● Narrative Frame: Prologue and Epilogue – Writer Chetan Bhagat present as a
listener of the story. This technique gives an air of reality to the fiction. One of the
characters who encounters the writer in the prologue is the narrator of the story in
first-person narration.
● First-person Narration: Autobiographical; one-sided perspective rather than multi-
dimensional; one can follow internal conflicts of one prominent character only; the
motives and intentions behind the actions of narrator (for example, Gopal going to
meet Raghav - motive was to show-off his success against Raghav’s failure; Gopal
faking a show with call-girls when Aarti comes to meet - intention was to break
relation with Aarti and make her marry Raghav);

17. Language: Simplistic - as if written for the beginners of English language; sentences are
also simple rather than complex. It does not challenge readers to re-read to get under the
skin of the words & expressions.
Humour: The overall tone is light humour. At times, it can be pathetic but never tragic.
Thank you!

18. Citation:
Bhagat, Chetan. “Chetan Bhagat | Biography, Books and Facts.” FamousAuthors.org,
https://www.famousauthors.org/chetan-bhagat. Accessed 6 March 2023.
Bhagat, Chetan. Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition. Rupa Publications India, 2011.
“International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE).” International Journal of
Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE), 20 December 2019, https://www.ijrte.org/wp-
content/uploads/papers/v8i4s4/D10331284S419.pdf. Accessed 6 March 2023.
MAMBROL, NASRULLAH. “Gerard Genette and Structural Narratology – Literary Theory and
Criticism.” Literary Theory and Criticism, 3 December 2016,
https://literariness.org/2016/12/03/gerard-genette-and-structural-narratology/. Accessed 6
March 2023.