I am Charlotte Simmons , by Tom Wolfe, is the epic novel of college life. Gone is the glamor, romance and excitement that inhabit the usual array of collegiate novels; Wolfe's account is the epitome of the harsh, cruel realities of a college freshman. I am Charlotte Simmons captures the uncomfortable, ordinary and incredibly difficult times that make up the college experience.
The book begins at Charlotte Simmons' high school graduation. A valedictorian and notorious overachiever, Charlotte is despised and envied by her classmates. While the rest of her class plans on attending community college in the rural valleys of provincial North Carolina, Charlotte Simmons is off to the luxurious halls and brilliance of Dupont University—a school very closely modeled after Duke University. The book traces Charlotte's adventures from the day her parents drop her off at the great, gleaming university campus to her climactic mental breakdown when she realizes how fickle college life can be.
Charlotte Simmons is a small-town girl raised in the rural south, virginal, naive and completely unaware of collegiate tribulations. In the beginning you feel sorry for her as she wanders about unaware that prestigious universities like Dupont have co-ed dorms filled with people who have little or no aspirations to learn, only the desire to party and have sex in abundance.
It is due to her innocence in a place filled and overwhelmed with “sin”—during the first week of school, Charlotte is “sexiled” (to borrow Wolfe's term) by her roommate and is forced to spend the night in the commons room—that eventually leads to Charlotte's breakdown. Wolfe tracks Charlotte's naiveté, from her interactions with boys who only want sex to her dangerous interactions with flirty teachers. For Charlotte, who refuses to abandon her innocence for a more streetwise and aware state of mind, these dangerous liaisons make Charlotte seem stupid and immature. It's at this point that the reader loses patience with her. She is no longer an innocent. Her moral paradigm is shattered by her desire to fit in and she loses her ethical habiliments that make her so unique.
What is most irritating about Charlotte's character is her anxiety to fit in. On a typical Friday night, Charlotte decides to lose the loser image and try out a frat party. Unaware of the dangers of leaving drinks unattended at any huge party, Charlotte lets boys feed her copious amounts of liquor. She gets drunk, and almost slinks away with a boy she'd met only minutes earlier. She keeps her virginity only because another frat boy is “using” the room. Saved by coincidence, it is only a matter of time before Charlotte's luck runs out.
Wolfe has an incredible way of capturing the essence of college life. Throughattending frat parties and classes at Drake University during his “research,” Wolfe is able to mimic the slang, jargon and trends running rampant across college campuses. Even the sexual fantasies of college boys are minutely described in I am Charlotte Simmons . Hilarious, and at times shocking, Wolfe's portrayal of young adulthood is stark, raw and completely accurate. Well-written and full of plot twists and complex characters all tied together by Charlotte, I am Charlotte Simmons is a book that is the picture of unabashed reality. It is a novel that is impossible to put down, and will keep the reader entertained until the very end.