here is a scenario, since I really need a firm grasp of
there is a character who comes from what is essentially the 1300s (Medieval Europe), this character is tossed into the far future the 1800s (Industrial era america)
how would a character like that react to modern technology? (well, its technically not modern anymore)
Apr '18Apr '18
Confusion, amazement and fear is the things that your character will feel, but depends on your character too, actually.
probably will think he/she is cursed by a witch or will think that everybody's a witch. kill/threaten everybody they encounter by forcing innocent people to return them to their homeland. and it's not just because of the fashion and technology. everybody speaks in a different language so things will get wilder. also, will steal a horse and ride all over the place trying to find a way out
well.. this character is not dumb or irrational, they just haven't seen the light of day for like... 500 ish years
Anyway, like I said, its depend on your character personality. If they're the curious one, they might start to look around and touch whatever on their line of sight. If they're the coward one, they might just get scared and being careful around the city and probably just gonna stay on the outskirts of the city and learn from the sidelines.
So, see your character personality, and just add a mix of it.
the medieval era was the era of witches and black magic. people back then burned anyone who they think is a witch. you could have been murdered for just being sick. your character lived in the time of war and magic. then all of a sudden, he/she awakens in a new world of technology beyond imagination and a language that can't be understood. it's not irrational in your character's perspective. but like silver said, your character's personality is a factor. read how people in the medieval era lived and absorb their behavior and mindset.then put yourself in your character's shoes. he does not know anything about the future so what would he do if he was brought to a place he is completely unfamiliar with? does he even realize he's in the future?
Agree silverraven0 -- "being from the 1300s" isn't a character trait so much as an indicator of background knowledge, values, and culture -- which is also going to be dependent on where exactly they're from and what beliefs they hold.
So like, Amberday brought up the witch-hunt thing -- from what I can tell, there certainly were people getting accused of witchcraft at that point in time, BUT, also in the early 1300s the official stance of the church was that witches aren't real so you shouldn't prosecute people for that. You could have two people from the same time period and have one of them believe that witches are the source of all of life's unexplained woes, and the other believe that "witches" are superstitious nonsense that no God-fearing person would believe in.
So there's a couple of questions in here -- one is "how will this character react to the unexpected and unexplainable?" which is almost entirely dependent on that character's personality and values. You could ask the same question of a character from any time period!
The other question is "what's going to be unexpected and unexplainable for this character, based on their background?" and that's honestly gonna require looking specific stuff up. If you want to know what they think of cell phones, you're gonna have to look up how communications were sent in the 1300s and determine what level of literacy you feel like was normal for the specific lifestyle of your character in that time period and figure out, from the base they're working from, what's going to be understandable and what's going to seem mystical? And then you look back at their personality again to determine how much they're willing to accept a miraculous device that's beyond their understanding as a human innovation.
I don't think there would be an across-the-board reaction to all Technology -- it's probably going to depend on which things are similar to something they know, and which things are completely alien!
aye! these are all very good points.
I honestly can't really talk much except for just listening to what the life factors and societal life was like, as well as technology.
I probably worded the question wrong, I was looking for societal differences between the two time periods. I'm very sure this character can be shocked at the sight of running water and how revolutionary a faucet is, unless however... faucets was legitimately a thing in the 1300s, comparing and contrasting technology time periods
but yes, that is what I'm looking for, what may come across as familiar to the character and what won't
also @silverraven0 and @Amberday I say thanks!
the 1300s was very new to me (ironic I know) and amber really helped by bringing up religion, which is something I'll think on...
in terms of character personality? I already have a direction, but thanks for bringing up the whole character reaction... though it's not particularly what I'm looking for...
The reaction of the character would also depend from the country he's coming from. "Medieval Europe" doesn't mean a lot. Life was completely different between (just example, using countries' modern names and borders) medieval Spain, medieval Germany, medieval Serbia, medieval England, Greece, France, Sweden etc...
confusment, anger, racism/sexism and, if catholic or christian, he would be preachy and witch burning.
also they couldn't communicate since medieval English and English are completely different languages.
most probably they would try to destroy it, calling it the devils work or witchcraft (people that time where very religious and superstitious)
I would say fascination. The tech jump would be about equivalent to someone jumping from the 1950's until now, in terms of what was available and how far they came. I don't think someone from the 50's would think that our tech was witchcraft or anything, but would just be blown away that we have computers in our pockets and things like that. Sort of like Brenden Fraser in Blast From the Past lol
Great concept, I'll be very curious to see it!
I think the character's response would depend not only on personality and nationality, but also their place in medieval society. For example, did they use to be a farmer, a priest or a knight?
A certain amount of religious bigotry might be expected, but I actually think the character would be less racist than most 19th century people. Prejudice has always existed, but racism as an ideology was invented after the Middle Ages.
There are a lot of stereotypes and prejudices about the "Dark Ages", so it might be a good thing to consult the Wikipedia entry on medieval philosophy2. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate though, it's fine to make stuff up if it contributes to the story.
Anyway, great idea, and good luck!
