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Q&A How to write a 'fish out of water' character?

Inserting a Fish out of water character could be good way to introduce the reader to the world and also great for comic relief, but there were cases in books I've read when the character's naivete ...

3 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Ekaterin Nile‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:08:03Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/33728
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Ekaterin Nile‭ · 2019-12-08T08:08:03Z (about 5 years ago)
Inserting a [Fish out of water](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FishOutOfWater) character could be good way to introduce the reader to the world and also great for comic relief, but there were cases in books I've read when the character's naivete or ignorance was overplayed.

For example, a visitor from a more advanced civilization was too slow to interpret the economic situation and cultural clues, creating a somewhat [Marie Antoinette-ish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake) character. There were also cases where a character from a rustic background was written like a complete ignoramus.

What are the best ways to avoid these mistakes and portray a believable 'fish out of water' character?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-02-23T15:52:24Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 5