University of Washington

Health and Well-Being in College

An Analysis of the book I Am Charlotte Simmons

Jackie Days

Gender, Race, and Diaspora in Population Health

Honors 391 A - Winter 2020

Professor Clarence Spigner

I Am Charlotte Simmons is a book written in 2004 by accredited author Tom Wolfe that

follows the freshman year of college for Charlotte Simmons, a very accomplished girl from a

small mountain town in North Carolina who is now attending a prestigious university far from

home. Although it is initially off-putting that an older man is writing the narrative of a younger

girl, Wolfe manages to use this lens to capture and critique almost every aspect of college life

and shed light on numerous social and health discrepancies that America’s fascination with

college has created. Essentially, the American ideal of college being “the best four years of your

life” and the most academically invigorating years of your life is revealed to be a sham and the

true detriments are revealed. I Am Charlotte Simmons is a work of fiction, but the issues of

mental health, sexual harassment, misogyny, and racismthat the book hightlights are very much

non-fiction and exist in universities around the country, including our own.

I initially picked this book because I predicted that I would relate to the main character,

Charlotte Simmons. Like Charlotte, I grew up in a small town on the East coast and made the

decision to attend a large, prestigious University that was far from home. Throughout reading, I

came to identify with Charlotte more and more, which made the reading experience thoroughly

enjoyable as well as impactful. Although our upbringings were not the same, Charlotte being

raised in a very, very conservative and religious culture as opposed to my secular upbringing, a

lot of the feelings that she expressed were ones that I felt during my first year of college as well.

An issue that arose was Charlotte’s mental state, her mental health, and her overall well-being

and how those were negatively impacted by the social stresses of college. Although it is never

projected to be, college is a very isolating time. There is the expectation of making so many
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friends and being social at all times, but that is not the case. Even when you are surrounded by

people, feelings of loneliness tend to creep in. This is seen when Charlotte attends the frat formal

with Hoyt Thorpe, even though she is surrounded by people assumed to be her friends, she feels

lonely and disconnected. This projection of needing to have a robust social life also fosters a

sense of codependency and relying on others. Charlotte never goes anywhere without another

person - she goes to the tailgate with Mimi and Bettina, she makes Adam walk her to the St.Ray

fraternity house- and it is because she fears being seen alone. She does not want to project the

image that she has no friends, she wants to look cool. This fascination with status and looking

cool also is severely damaging. In Charlotte’s case, it is what caused her to slip into a state of

depression. Her obsession with what others were thinking of her caused her mental health to

deteriorate and she broke down. Her depression not only caused her to feel mentally unwell, but

harmed her grades as well, which are very important to her. This is indicative of colleges in

America and how mental health is a major issue. According to Healthline, one third of first year

students report mental health issues. This is a very serious issue as mental health issues can affect

one’s performance in school as well as relationships with others. These institutions have created

a culture that can seriously damage one’s mental health and it is important for schools to either

mitigate these issues at the core or offer more support and resources.

Another damaging issue that college culture, more specifically Greek culture, has

cultivated is that of toxic masculinity and along with that sexual harassment. We covered these

topics and the damaging effects of them extensively in class and much of what we learned was

relevant to the experience of Charlotte Simmons as well. One of the most jarring things to me

was how much of Charlotte’s stream of consciousness was about seeking the validation of men.
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It was intriguing to see the shift, too, as she started off her year by rejecting the attention of men

to eventually craving it and her relationships with guys was how she validated herself. It was

extremely disheartening to see, especially because Charlotte had entered college passionate about

one thing and that was her education and expanding her knowledge. But, as the book went on,

her academics seemed to take up less of her focus and the environment of the university had

drawn her attention to things such as boys and social status.

The behavior of the frat boys in I Am Charlotte Simmons is very alarming and it is

reflective of the Greek systems nationwide as well as at University of Washington. The Greek

system is often seen as the cornerstone of the social scene during college and is the main source

of partying and drinking culture associated with American college students. The system is

inherently sexist and a breeding ground for toxic masculinity. One of the most glaring instances

of this, which is demonstrated in the book but is also true of colleges in America is that any girl

will be let into a frat party, but boys will not be. This is demonstrative of the intentions fraternity

boys have. College girls rely on the fraternities to throw parties and at these parties it seems like

the only goal for them is finding girls to hook up with. This was evident in the character Hoyt

Thorpe as every time he was seen in a social scene like a party, he was flirting with or being

touchy with a girl. Charlotte felt uncomfortable by his advances at the first party, but she felt as if

she could not object to his touchiness because of his popularity and status of being a frat boy.

The way that these frat boys objectify girls, particularly freshman girls by calling them “fresh

meat”, is horrifying and perpetuates the gender inequality and sexism that exists in our culture

already and it is not like this behavior will simply stop after college. Pack mentality exists

heavily in frats, which aids in justifying the behavior as all the brothers are doing it. This is
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dangerous because then there are no consequences or repercussions for this harassment. This

sexual harassment in college will only lead to sexual harassment in the workplace.

Another glaring issue with frats and college culture in general is the issue of sexual

assault. There is an instance in the book where Charlotte goes on a formal with Hoyt and she

loses her virginity to him while very drunk. Although it is never explicitly stated that what

happened between is sexual assault, it is nevertheless concerning. Charlotte’s consent was not

clear and coherent and, in fact Hoyt took her silence for consent. The effects of this trauma were

clear from Charlotte’s response as this event is what caused her to slip into depression and lose

interest in the things around her. Sexual assault is a major issue for college students and remains

salient in the culture. RAINN%, an anti-sexual assault organization, has said that about 23% of

college aged females and 5.4% of college aged males expereince some form of sexual assault,

although sexual assault is largely underreported so these statistics are not entirely accurate.

Sexual assault occurs frequently on college campuses and can cause detrimental effects for the

survivors including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The perpetrators on the other hand almost

always walk away scot free. As we saw in the Brock Turner case that we discussed in class, it

seems like the assailants are almost always granted immunity or face no repercussions for their

actions if they are reported. More light has been shone on this issue recently, but universities

must do more. Colleges need to implement a better justice system, stripping it of it’s victim

blaming mentality, as well as provide more resources and a safe space for survivors to report and

receive support.

Another important topic addressed in the book was that of student athletes. The book

focused on the basketball team at Dupont University in order to expose the bureaucratic abuse of
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student athletes as well as the racism involved in campus sports. The Dupont basketball team is

very highly ranked in the nation and the school relies on them for a lot of fame and fortune.

Basketball culture is also very ingrained into the student body of Dupont and their games are

always crowded with students, often using it as an excuse to drink.

As we learned in the presentation “Blessed with God-given Abilities” student athletes are

often forced into a small box of just being an athlete. They are discouraged from pursuing

rigorous academic work and coerced into sticking with athlete friendly classes. Jojo Johannsen

is a starter for the Dupont basketball team and a majority of his plotline is him being deterred by

his coach from taking harder classes that he is extremely interested in. His coach’s concern is

that he will be distracted from basketball and will not perform as well, therefore impeding the

university's ability to profit. This is a blatant display of the commodification of student athletes.

This practice impedes athletes after college greatly. If they do not end up going pro, which a

majority do not, then they must get a job and they will be significantly less prepared than most

college graduates. It is a major disservice to student athletes to not allow them to pursue their

academics as that is what college is supposed to help students do. Furthermore, it is unfair to not

pay these athletes who put in so much extra work and bring in a lot of profit for universities.

It is important to note that Jojo is white athlete, but black basketball players face these

same issues as well as racism within their own team and from administration and other students

as well. The book tended to play into some racist stereotypes about African Americans, but

overall it was an attempt to critique the racist system and people around them. A major talking

point for white players on the team as well as students like the Mutant Millennials was the idea

that one’s race makes them genetically predisposed to excel at a sport over other races. In this
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instance they discussed the notion that black people were just naturally better at basketball than

white people. Many of the white players in the book felt validated when they played with or

against black players because it made them feel like they were overcoming an obstacle and

displaying their superiority. On the flip side, they would also use this idea to justify when they

did not do as well and use it as an excuse. For example, Jojo tells Mike, another white player,

that he is the best shooter on the team, but the Coach will start a black player simply because he

thinks he has more ability. This belief that black people are just naturally better at sports is not

only false, but extremely dangerous. First, it discredits the hard work and practice of black

athletes, but also it opens the door to justifying discrimination and racism in sports.

I Am Charlotte Simmons offers a lot to unpack about the collegiate institutions that we

admire so much in America. Almost every page is an expose of a daunting aspect about college

life. College is supposed to be a formative time where everyone is equal and free to explore and

pursue their social and academic passions. Most think that college and universities are a haven

on intellect and education, but this book shows that the reality is that right underneath the surface

there are many issues that include but are not limited to the issues discussed in this essay. The

American “college experience” as well as the universities dedication to profit is a dangerous

public health issue that only accumulates and feeds into our society post-graduation.