Role
Stan lives in South Park with his father Randy, a geologist, and mother Sharon, a secretary at a rhinoplasty clinic. Also living with Stan's family are his older sister Shelley, who bullies and beats him up on a regular basis, and his wheelchair-bound centenarian grandfather Marvin, who dementedly calls Stan "Billy" and had previously tried to influence Stan to commit a mercy killing upon him. He attends South Park Elementary as part of Mr. Garrison's fourth grade class. During the show's first 58 episodes (1997 through the season 4 episode "4th Grade" in 2000), Stan and the other main child characters were in the third grade. His birthday is listed as October 19, 2001 on his Facebook page during the season 14 episode "You Have 0 Friends". Stan is frequently embarrassed and/or annoyed by his father's antics and frequent acts of public drunkenness. Stan's relationship as nephew to his uncle Jimbo received moderate attention in the show's first two seasons.
Amongst the show's main characters, Kyle is defined as being the only Jewish kid, Cartman is recognized by his obesity, greed, and extreme bigotry, and Kenny is notable for being poor and frequently dying; as opposed to having a prominent distinguishing trait, Stan is portrayed (in words of the show's official website) as "a normal, average, American, mixed-up kid".
Stan is modeled after Parker, while Kyle is modeled after Stone. Stan and Kyle are best friends, and their relationship, which is intended to reflect the real-life friendship between Parker and Stone, is a common topic throughout the series. The two do have their disagreements, but always reconcile without any long-term damage to their friendship. As is the case with his other friends and classmates, Stan is frequently at odds with Cartman, resenting Cartman's behavior and openly mocking his weight. Stan also shares a close friendship with Kenny, while Kenny professes that Stan is one of "the best friends a guy could have". Stan can understand Kenny's muffled voice perfectly, and typically exclaims the catchphrase "Oh my God! They killed Kenny!", following one of Kenny's trademark deaths, allowing Kyle to follow up with "You bastards!" Stan is the only character in the group to have had a steady girlfriend, Wendy Testaburger, and their relationship was a recurring topic in the show's earlier seasons. Despite reconciling and declaring to be a couple again in the season 11 (2007) episode "The List" after Wendy had dumped him in the season seven (2003) episode "Raisins", their relationship has received relatively less focus in recent seasons. As a running gag, a nervous Stan often vomits whenever Wendy approaches to kiss or speak to him. In many episodes, Stan contemplates ethics in beliefs, moral dilemmas, and contentious issues, and will often reflect on the lessons he has attained with a speech that often begins with "You know, I learned something today...".
Read more about this topic: Stan Marsh
Famous quotes containing the word role:
“Nothing is ever simple. What do you do when you discover you like parts of the role you’re trying to escape?”
—Marilyn French (b. 1929)
“Whatever we’re doing, whoever we are, it isn’t enough. . . . Little wonder we have trouble finding role models to guide us through these shoals. No one less than God Herself could be all the things we’d like to be to all the people we’d like to feel approval from.”
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“This [new] period of parenting is an intense one. Never will we know such responsibility, such productive and hard work, such potential for isolation in the caretaking role and such intimacy and close involvement in the growth and development of another human being.”
—Joan Sheingold Ditzion and Dennie Palmer (20th century)