Charlotte Simmons

Charlotte Simmons is a napve eighteen-year-old girl from Sparta, North Carolina (called "the Lost Province"). She comes from a poor family: her father is a well-meaning unemployed caretaker and her mother is a person who holds strict moral boundaries. She also has two younger brothers. A perfect SAT score of 1600 earned her the distinction of being one of North Carolina's two Presidential Scholars, so she is able to attend the university of her choice. Her choice to attend ivy leave Dupont, no less, made front-page news in the small town of Sparta. Charlotte is described as athletic with long straight brown hair.

Among her key features is her identity. She views herself as distinct and unique and this is echoed continually through the book as she says, "I am Charlotte Simmons" as if it is a reminder to her, her listeners, and the readers that she is...