Charlie Pierzynski

Charlie May Pierzynski is an original Threadbare South Park character. She is one of the five main characters, along with Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny.
Charlie makes her Threadbare South Park debut in "Charlie", the first Threadbare episode, and has appeared in every episode since. The first seven episodes, jointly referred to as the Charlie Arc, feature Charlie as a central character and set the stage for later episodes.
From "Sisters Suck" and onward, she is fostered by the Marsh family. Partly due to her living circumstances, she becomes the sometimes-fifth-member of the boys' group.
==Background==
===Early Childhood===
Until she was five, Charlie had a relatively normal home life. She was born Minneapolis, Minnesota, where lived with Jane, her biological mother and Joe Pierzynski, her husband (whose last name she shares), in an apartment. When Charlie was four, Jane gave birth to Becca, Charlie's half-sister.
===Family Dysfunction===
When Charlie was five years old, her parents' marriage began to deteriorate. Against his wife's wishes, Joe quit his job to pursue a career in music. By all appearances, he was never successful in his endeavors. The family's financial situation rapidly deteriorated.
Joe also became unfaithful to his wife; he was often away for extended periods of time. Although Joseph and Jane never legally divorced, Joe gradually visited his family less frequently, and the children and their mother moved several times. Despite their tumultuous relationship, Jane became pregnant by Joe and gave birth to a son, Davy, when Charlie was seven.
When Charlie is eight and in third grade, Jane, Charlie, Becca, and Davy move to South Park, Colorado. According to Charlie, Jane never told Joe that they were moving.
It is unknown whether Charlie has any relatives outside of her immediate family. Charlie does not know of any grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins, suggesting that, if such relatives to exist, they have a poor relationship with her mother.
===Abuse===
Charlie is physically (and possibly emotionally) abused by her mother from around the time that Joe begins to philander, when Charlie is five. At first, the abuse is infrequent, but it escalates in frequency and violence over the following three years. It finally climaxes in South Park, when an angry and stressed Jane forces Charlie to drink bleach and beats her to unconsciousness, nearly killing her. Jane flees her home immediately after. It is not known where she went or what she intended to do, but she was quickly apprehended by police and ultimately convicted of child abuse and attempted murder.
By all accounts, Jane only abused Charlie, not her other children. Joe, while he was an oft-absent father, was never abusive.
===Hobbies/Interests===
====Music====
Charlie is shown to enjoy singing. She typically sings by herself for her own amusement, but does not appear shy about singing in front of others; in "One of the Girls", Charlie plays the ukulele and sings for a talent show.
Charlie's taste in music is unusual for a nine-year-old girl; she likes old-time country and western music, as well as some of the off-beat rock legends of the '70s. It appears that she acquired her taste for these styles of music from her step-father. The artists she references include Johnny Cash, Warren Zevon, Alan Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Goodman, and Willie Nelson.
====Aviation====
Charlie aspires to be a commercial airline pilot when she grows up. She frequently doodles airplanes, receives a model airplane construction set from Stan for Christmas, and considers the Boeing 787 to be her favorite model of airplane.
====Video Games====
Charlie plays video games with the boys on several occasions. However, she does not appear to be very good at them; Stan and Kyle comment that she "never wins" at any games (video or otherwise).
====Girl Scouts====
Charlie is temporarily a member of the Girl Scouts in the episode "Girl Scout Cookies". She does not, however, display any interest in the club itself; she is merely a member so that she and Cartman can exploit a legal loophole to purchase and resell Girl Scout Cookies during the off-season.
===Criminal Record===
* Accessory to murder - Charlie, along with the boys and Sharon Marsh, take Roland the headless Thompson gunner to a Taylor Swift concert in Denver, where Roland proceeds to murder the popular country singer. (While
* Failure to respect the patriarchal order - As a gag in "Girl Scout Cookies", Charlie is arrested by several heavily-armed SWAT team members for failing to respect Cartman's "authority" in compliance with the Girl Scout Law. While such a violation has no true legal repercussions, she is forced to quit the Girl Scouts.
* Fraud - Charlie solicits donations from townspeople to pay for Mr. Garrison's scrotal surgery, but tells the donors that Mr. Garrison is actually receiving brain surgery.
* Unlawful possession of a deadly weapon - Charlie, Stan, and Kyle use a hand grenade to kill Binky the hedgehog.
===Religion===
Charlie was not raised to be religious. When she lives with the Marsh family, she goes with them to mass, but is often confused by rituals and rites. In "Mistletoe Immunity", she doesn't know that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birth, leading her to begin a movement to bring Christmas to the Jews.
==Appearance==
Charlie is a nine-year-old white girl with dark brown, chin-length hair. She is average-looking in terms of attractiveness (although she is ranked last on the girls' list of prettiest fourth graders in "One of the Girls".) At the time of her introduction in "Charlie", her hair is very short and cut in a boyish style. Over time, her hair grows somewhat longer, but it always remains shorter than shoulder-length. She typically wears a dark blue coat, cargo pants, grey sneakers, grey gloves, and a blue-green stocking cap. Because of her short hair and gender-ambiguous clothes and name, she is often mistaken for a boy (much to her annoyance).
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==Personality==
Although she is not shy, Charlie is not skilled in making good first impressions. She is not a good conversationalist with acquaintances, although she is more relaxed when speaking to friends. She can be somewhat blunt in casual conversations. She doesn't fit in well with other kids (especially other girls) but she cares deeply for the friends she has. Because of her social ineptness, the other fourth grade girls vote her the least popular girl in the class.
Charlie is generally good-natured, sometimes even sweet. She doesn't like singling out people to tease, and she does her best to cheer her friends up when they're down. In "Post-Dramatic Stress Disorder," she tells the other boys to stop laughing at Kyle when his mother walks him on a leash. Then she tries to make Kyle feel less uncomfortable by telling him that Mrs. Marsh had checked her and Stan's backpacks for weapons that morning.
Although she isn't as smart as Kyle, Charlie occasionally reveals a mature and intelligent side. She is good at explaining things, has a wide array of business and pop-cultural knowledge, and she appears to be a reasonably good student. However, she still has plenty of childlike naivety. She doesn't know what a scrotum is in "Elephant Balls," and she still finds toilet-humor amusing. She also falls victim to Cartman's powers of manipulation in "Project B" and "Girl Scout Cookies."
Even though she's a pretty decent kid, she doesn't mind arguing with or yelling at her friends when they upset or annoy her. She can also be a schemer, willing to act on morally questionable plans if will benefit her (as seen in "Elephant Balls" and "Girl Scout Cookies"). She is also capable of being manipulative; for example, she takes advantage of Tweek's nervous personality in "Hedgehog" when she coaxes him out of telling the truth about being bitten by the hedgehog, and she cajoles a large group of townspeople to donate to Mr. Garrison's surgery by crying (and claiming he is dying of brain cancer).
Charlie is usually very respectful towards authority figures. Unlike the boys, she does not talk back to Mr. Garrison or Mr. Mackey. She is also very polite, even somewhat shy, around Randy and Sharon, her foster parents.
==Family==
===Jane Pierzynski===
Jane is Charlie's abusive mother. For several years, Charlie was subjected to physical and emotional abuse at Jane's hands. Ultimately, the abuse nearly killed her. After years of defending her mother's behavior, Charlie is forced to confront and acknowledge the truth when she testifies against Jane in court in "Sisters Suck." The more time Charlie is separated from Jane, the more she realizes that she's better off without her.
===Joe Pierzynski===
Despite his instability and infidelity toward Jane, Charlie always greatly admired and loved Joe. While law enforcement officials are still unable to find Joe, Charlie writes (but doesn't send) him a note. At the end of chapter four, it is revealed that Joseph is not Charlie's biological father (although he is the father of her two younger siblings), and that he is, perhaps, not the greatest guy in the world either, as he is serving a ten-year prison sentence for armed robbery.
===Becca Pierzynski===
Becca is Charlie's five-year-old half-sister who is fostered by the Cartmans after Jane's arrest. When they still lived together, Charlie was like a second mother to Becca. She babysat her from a very young age and was always very protective of her. Though they now live in different homes, Charlie is still protective of Becca and is always concerned about her welfare. For example, when Cartman swears, Charlie often warns him "not to talk like that" in front of Becca.
===Davy Pierzynski===
Davy is Charlie's one-year-old half-brother. As with Becca, Charlie is very protective of and loving towards Davy. After Jane's arrest, Davy briefly lives with Kyle's family. He is relocated to a foster home in Denver in "Project B", which devastates Charlie. She has not seen him since.
==Relationships==
===Stan Marsh===
====Friendship====
When they first meet, Stan and Charlie are somewhat indifferent towards each other. However, since Charlie lives with the Marsh family after her mother is arrested, she and Stan spend a lot of time together. Over time, the two come to act like somewhat like siblings. They enjoy tormenting Shelly and watching T.V. together, and Stan gradually allows Charlie to become part of the group.
====Conflict====
Stan is furious when he has to give Charlie his room and share with Shelley. He becomes even angrier when, in "Sisters Suck," he is grounded for yelling at Charlie about this issue. Ultimately, Charlie is switched to Shelley's room and Stan gets his old room back. After this conflict is resolved, the pair get along much better, although they do occasionally bicker.
===Kyle Broflovski===
Kyle is Charlie's first friend in South Park. He discovers that Jane is abusive and tells Mr. Mackey (against Charlie's wishes), who contacts Jane. Kyle finds Charlie unconscious after Jane feeds her bleach, and he contacts the authorities. The Broflovskis briefly foster Charlie's brother Davy.
Kyle is very defensive, even protective, of Charlie. In "Charlie," he stands up for her against Cartman's teasing and makes an effort to make her feel welcome. He does the same thing in "Sisters Suck" when Wendy calls her names. In "Project B," Kyle tries to convince his mother to allow Davy to stay with their family, knowing that Charlie would be devastated if she lost her little brother. When this fails, he tries to hide the truth from Charlie for as long as possible. Later, in "One of the Girls," he loudly and angrily confronts the group of girls that pretended to be Charlie's friend only to ridicule her later, calling it "the bitchiest thing you've ever done."
====Romance====
There are several hints throughout Charlie's appearances that Kyle might have a crush on her. Cartman torments Kyle for this from her very first appearance (although Cartman's taunting is mostly unsubstantiated). However, there are two scenes in "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" where Kyle is excited to twice able to hold her hand (although Charlie doesn't seem to realize this).
In "One of the Girls," Kyle tries to ask Charlie to go to the Martin Luther King Day dance, but is too nervous due to her characterization of taking dates to dances as "gay." Once everyone is at the dance, Charlie, who has been tricked into wearing an ugly dress and dancing alone by some of the fourth grade girls, is shocked and humiliated to realize that the group was only using her for their entertainment. Kyle, who sees the whole thing play out, yells at the girls and leads Charlie away from the dance. Outside of the school, they talk, with Charlie largely expressing her humiliation. After Kyle makes a comment implying that he thinks she is pretty, Charlie kisses him quickly on the lips. While Charlie seems surprised with herself, even apologizing, the two both begin to act happier after the event. Later, they hold hands as they walk to Kyle's house.
Because "One of the Girls" was received so positively by the FanFiction.Net community, the author is considering writing an episode in which Kyle and Charlie begin a "relationship". This episode, if it is written, would focus both on the mutual attraction between the two and the social implications of such a relationship for Kyle, who is more popular and well-liked among his peers than Charlie is.
===Kenny McCormick===
Kenny and Charlie are friends, although she is not as close to Kenny as she is to Stan or Kyle. When Charlie first moved to South Park, she moved into the house next to Kenny's.
Kenny is often excited by the prospects of having a female in the group. Despite Charlie's opinion that Kenny is "a pervert," she finds him amusing.
Partly due to her personality, Charlie is usually more upset by Kenny's deaths than the guys. In "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner", she cries over his trampled body, vomits when rats eat his corpse, and wears black the next day out of respect for his (and Warren Zevon's) death.
===Eric Cartman===
Like Cartman and Kyle (but to a lesser extent), they are friends who like to fight. Although they rarely get along, Cartman and Charlie continue to hang out with the same social group. It is uncertain whether or not they truly consider themselves "friends." In "Project B," for example, when Charlie comes to visit Cartman, he tells his mother that she is not his friend. In "Girl Scout Cookies," after her alliance with Cartman comes to an end, Charlie tells Stan and Kyle that she's glad that she can now spend time with her "real friends." This assertion is later contradicted in "One of the Girls," when Charlie includes Cartman when she names the friends she has made since moving to South Park. In the same story, Charlie defends Cartman against Kyle, telling Kyle not to make fun of Cartman's weight (although this was probably due to her own security about her appearance at that point in the story). It seems most likely that Charlie considers the two to be at least superficial friends, while Cartman sees Charlie as more of a nuisance.
====Conflict====
Cartman continually fights against Charlie's fusion into the group, although he is typically overruled. When left alone, as seen in "Project B" and "Girl Scout Cookies," they fight much more than they do in the group.
====Alliances====
On several occasions, Cartman and Charlie (sometimes with others) have teamed up for something mutually beneficial, as in "Girl Scout Cookies" and "Elephant Balls." Although Charlie is the more likely of the two to back out of a scheme due to a crisis of conscience, this did not happen on either occasion; in "Girl Scout Cookies," she is forced to quit the Girl Scouts after breaking the Girl Scout Law, ending their somewhat illicit trade of Girl Scout cookies, and in "Elephant Balls," Charlie's technique of lying about Mr. Garrison's illness is ultimately successful.
A less significant instance of an "alliance" between the two occurs in "One of the Girls," when they agree that fourth grade boys taking girls to dances is "totally gay."
====Becca====
Despite his desire to hate her, Cartman is actually a decent foster brother to Becca. Becca considers him her "big brother," and Charlie appreciates his (relatively) good behavior towards her. In "Girl Scout Cookies," after engaging in a screaming match with Cartman, Charlie's anger rapidly subsides after Becca tells her that Cartman occasionally tells her bedtime stories.
===Sharon Marsh===
Sharon acts as Charlie's foster mother when Charlie lives with the Marshes. Sharon treats Charlie in a very caring and maternal way.
===Randy Marsh===
Randy is Charlie's foster father when Charlie lives with the Marshes. They do not interact much.
===Shelly Marsh===
Shelly becomes Charlie's foster sister. They are forced to share a room, and Shelly seems to treat Charlie similarly to how she treats Stan: like a turd.
===Gerald Broflovski===
Gerald is Charlie's lawyer, representing her in court. He prosecutes the case against Jane Pierzynski pro-bono in "Sisters Suck."
==Trivia==
*Charlie and her story were first conceived in 2007, then abandoned until 2011. "Charlie", "Brainwashing", and "Sisters Suck" (the first three chapters of The Charlie Arc) are consistent with the original plot.
*Her legal name is Charlie May Pierzynski, but she is sometimes mistakenly called "Charlotte," usually by adults. She even explains her own name as "short for Charlotte".
*Charlie is diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in (the aptly named) "Post-Dramatic Stress Disorder." (She is also diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, but this diagnosis is later proven false.)
*In "Hedgehog", Charlie adopts a hedgehog as a pet and names him Binky.
*Charlie wants to be a pilot when she grows up.
*Although she learns that Joe is not her father in "Project B", we receive no indication that she or Joe knows who her biological father really is. This issue may be addressed in later installments of The Charlie Arc.
Category:Characters
Category:Original Characters
Category:Students
Category:Female Characters
Category:Pierzynski Family
Category:Marsh Family
Category:Main Characters
Category:Fourth Grade Students
Category:Female Students