Samantha Wells

Here, you can read the outer and inner chracterization of Samantha Wells from Chuck Palahniuk's short story “Cold Calling”.

Outer characterization

Samantha Wells’ outer characterization tells us that she is a white teenage cheerleader at Thomas Jefferson High School in Walla Walla, Washington: “A white girl. With long blond hair. Wearing a cheerleader outfit.” (p. 129, ll. 18-19)

We do not know exactly what her parents do, but the fact that she can take her father’s credit card and buy mops without him knowing, suggests that they are probably well-off financially. Also, Samantha tells Bill that her father “was in the Peace Corps” (p. 129, l. 42), but this might be just another lie. Samantha tells Bill several lies, making up an entire false persona on the phone. She claims that she is originally from Zaire but was adopted and that her real name is Shamu-Rindi, and she has a pet ocelot. She also lies about her appearance, claiming she is African American and has stereotypical African-American hair: “ ‘ …the humid weather makes my hair all nappy…’ ” (p. 129, ll. 25-26)

Inner characterization

Her inner characterization is conveyed through her actions and attitude. When she first talks to Bill, Samantha assumes he is Indian (suggesting her prejudices) and seems to believe his stories abou...