What Thorne valued was the freedom to continue doing whatever he wished, without restraint. With the official slave trade gone, it seemed a
likely bet that the queen would turn her attention to the black market next. Traffic in weapons, narcotics, children . . . the new queen was not
the Regent, she’d proved that already; she cared about the low as well as the great. That was why Thorne had decreed that she had to go.
Johansen, 2014: 334
The statement above explains in detail that Kelsea’s ways in ruling is
different with Thomas Regent. It triggers Thorne’s hatred. Kelsea prefers the right
of the people. Kelseas way of ruling is based on the moral value of humanity and justice, while Thomas Regent and Arlen Thorne prefer to do things based on their
own pleasure. Kelsea’s wisdom is also revealed when Kelsea holds a hearing in the
Hall. At the hearing, Kelsea feels something is missing. She does not see the poor and the lower class people. She notices that most people who attend the hearing
are the nobles. She decides to change that. She gives the right for anyone to come to the audience, regardless of their class.
As she went up the aisle, many in the crowd gave her disgusted glances, but Kelsea was unimpressed; they’d likely behaved no better during the
last invasion. As on the day of her crowning, there were no poor here. She would have to change that. Next week when she held audience, she
would tell Mace to throw the doors open to the first few hundred who came. Johansen, 2014: 379
The last evidence that the writer can collect is when Kelsea is chasing Thorne. When
Kelsea successfully attacks and destroys Thorne’s entourage, her guards manage to capture one of the traitors. The traitor is Javel, one of the
Keep ’s gatekeepers. Thorne asks Javel to join his entourage because he promises
that Javel will get his wife back after he successfully does this shipment. Javel ’s
wife is sent many years ago in one of the shipments, but Javel lately realizes that what he is doing is wrong. Finally he decides to destroy the cage when Kelsea and
his entourage attack. Kelsea nodded, knowing this was true. But out of the blur of the night,
which now seemed centuries ago, her mind suddenly dug up a vivid picture: this man, an axe in his hand, swingly wildly at the bars of the
cage.
– “Take him back to the Keep and put him in a cell.” Johansen, 2014: 456
When the attack is over, Javel is arrested by the Queen ’s Guards. They
demand to punish Javel at the moment. Yet Kelsea refuses because she knows and sees what Javel does that night. Kelsea sees Javel tries to dismantle the cage that
night. As a wise person, Kelsea gives Javel imprisonment, not a death penalty. Kelsea decides to imprison Javel because what he does for freeing the people is
right. She is not giving him a death penalty for helping Thorne’s illegal shipment.
From all the quotations and the detailed explanations above, the writer considers that Kelsea has a wise characteristic. She has an open-minded tought
that she uses for every decision she makes. She puts aside her own ego. As a queen, she rules based on the need of her people which is based on the perspective
of humanity and justice. It is a proof that Kelsea is able to be the True Queen of The Tearling.
B. The Conflicts Faced by Kelsea Before and After Being a Queen of
Tearling
After knowing the characteristics of Kelsea, the writer tries to reveal the problems that Kelsea faces before and after being Queen. In this section, the
writer focuses on the conflics faced by Kelsea. The writer describes that Kelsea faces internal and external conflicts.
1. Internal Conflicts
As stated by Stanton in Introduction to Fiction, internal conflict is when a character is struggling against herself to decide her decision 1965: 16. In this
section, the writer elaborates some evidences to strengthen the internal conflicts faced by Kelsea. The writer finds that that Kelsea faced most of her internal
conflicts before she becomes a queen. The first internal conflict faced by Kelsea is when she has a dilemma for
leaving her foster parents or staying with them. She needs to leave her foster parents, Barty and Carlin to reclaim her throne in Tearling Kingdom. On the other
hand, she does not want to leave her foster parents. She feels guilty if she leaves them alone. They are too old for living in the cottage in the middle of the woods.
But if Kelsea chooses to stay with them, Tearling’s situation will get even worse. The people will suffer because of the slavery that is still going on. In the end,
Kelsea chooses to leave her foster parents and take the responsibility that has been waiting for her for so long.
Barty and Carlin stepped back, and Barty picked up the last pieces of Kelsea’s baggage. They both looked terribly old. Kelsea did not want to
leave them there, these two people who’d raised her and taught her everything she knew. The irrational side of her mine briefly considered
dropping her luggage and simply bolting out the back door, a bright and tempting fantasy that lasted two seconds before it faded Johansen, 2014:
22. The next internal conflict that is faced by Kelsea is when she has a
dilemma on her way back to Tearling. She is lost in her thought. Kelsea is still unsure about what she will do when she becomes a Queen later in Tearling. She
feels that she is so small, like she is just nothing for Tearling. On the other hand, her mind says that she needs to brace herself to take the responsibility because she
is no longer a little girl. It is her destiny to rule the Tearling. She decides to take the risk in ruling the Tearling. She wants to rule the Tearling and free the people
from slavery. She also wants to end the slavery to give back the rights of people of Tearling to live their life properly.
Good words, and Kelsea saw their wisdom even more now. But she had no idea what todo. How was she to command anyone?
I’m nineteen. I’m not supposed to be frightened anymore. Johansen, 2014: 30
The next conflict is when she arrives and faces a complicated situation on the Keep’s Yard. She has a dilemma to do what is right for Tearling’s people.
Kelsea wants to burn the slave cages and ends the Mort Treaty. If she does that, it will endanger her people, because The Mortmesne will do an invasion to
Tearling. On the other side, if Kelsea does not burn the cages and end the Treaty, her people will be sent as slaves for Mortmesne and it will keep the suffering
much longer. She is confused for a while. She is debating with herself, which way is better for Tearling. She faces a hard situation, because both decisions have their
own risks. In the end, Kelsea decides to burn the cages and end the slavery for her people’s rights and life.
She hesitated , then took he torch and rode toward the nearest cage. The crowd and her gurads shifted like a single great organis to allow her
access... ..but before she could throw it, her eye happened on one of the two cages
built for children. The fire inside her chest reignited, spreading heat across her skin.
Everything I’ve done so far can be undone. But if I do this, there’s no going back. Johansen, 2014: 157-158
Kelsea is aware about what she did. She shows her courage by ending the
Mort Treaty and dealing with Mortmesne Invasion. She does that for good of her people. Her people have been suffering from this slavery for so long and she
decides to end the slavery.
2. External Conflicts
After the writer discusses the internal conflicts that are faced by Kelsea, the writer discusses
Kelsea’s external conflicts. Kelsea faces several external conflicts with the other characters in the story. External conflict itself is a conflict
when the main character, the protagonist, is having different ideas with the other characters. As what Stanton said in Introduction to Fiction 1965, external
conflict is indicated when a character against hisher surrounding environment. A main character has to deal with different thought of hisher surroundings. This
conflict can be seen as a main character argues with another character, society, etc. The argument lasts because they have two different opinions and objectives.
Most of the conflicts that Kelsea faced is about trying to save the people of Tearling from the danger that they will face.
The type of conflict that Kelsea face is a struggle against another person. It is stated by Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature 1986:107, a
struggle against another person is a conflict when a character has to face the other characters either physically, mentally, or thought. In this section, Kelsea
encounters with other characters in the novel The Queen of the Tearling are elaborated. Kelsea faces many different ideas and desires with other characters of
the story.
a. Kelsea’s Conflict againts Pen.
There are some external conflicts that Kelsea faces in this story . The first external conflict is between Kelsea and Pen
, the member of the Queen’s Guards. The conflict between Kelsea and Pen happens before Kelsea becomes the queen
of Tearling. This conflict happens when Pen is going to build Kelsea’s tent in the
forest, but Kelsea wants to do it by herself. She takes every tool that she can find on the saddlebags. She wants to show him that she can do thing by herself.
Kelsea feels ashamed at the moment. She does not know what she is doing with the tools that she has. She thinks that she does not need any help for
building a tent. Pen explains that it is really necessary to build the tent with two or more people so that it will not give the person a hard time for making it. Kelsea
realizes that it will not be that hard to build the tent and it will be wise for her to let Pen helps her in the beginning. In the end, Kelsea gives up and let Pen helps
her to build the tent. She feels sorry for herself for being stubborn and childish. The point of this conflict is that Kelsea needs to be wise onn making her deicision.
She notice the youngest guard pulling the making of her tent from his saddlebags. “i’ll do it’’ she called and strode accross the clearing,
holding out her hand for some tool, perhaps some weapon, she didn’t care which. She’d never felt more useless.
The guard handled her a flat- headed mallet and remarked, “The tent does
require two people, Highness. May I help you?” “Of course,” Kelsea replied, pleased. Johansen, 2014: 40
b. Kelsea’s Conflict against Arlen Thorne
The next external conflict is associated with one of the prominent antagonists in the story. This conflict happens between Kelsea and Arlen Thorne,
the Census Burea’s leader. This conflict happens because Kelsea has a different ideas with Thorne on the slave lottery.
Kelsea arrives at the Keep and finds an unexpected situation that is complicated enough for her. She sees the people of Tearling are queuing for the
slave shipment. Kelsea wants to stop the shipment of the slave so that the people will not suffer any longer, but Thorne prevents her from stopping the shipment
because it will violate the Mort Treaty which has been maintained for years. Mort Treaty is a peace agreement with Mortmesne Kingdom. This treaty was signed
long time ago when Mortmesne invades Tearling to conquer the New World. Although Mort Treaty has been done for many years, Kelsea sees the treaty as a
major trouble in Tearling. She does not want her people to be sent to Mortmesne as slaves. Thorne wants to keep the treaty because it is his job that he has for a
