Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral,
intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it and from what they
do1999:32.
M.J. Murphy has a detailed explanation of the theory of character and characterization in his book
Understanding the Unseen
1972: 161-173. In his book, Murphy describes nine ways to determine the characteristics of a character
in a story. 1.
Personal description. The author can describe the character by hisher appearance. The character can be thin, fat, handsome or bad looking. The
clothes can describe the character’s economical condition. The rich one will use good or better clothes.
2. Character as seen by another. The author can give imagination or perspectives
by other character. A characteristic of a character can be seen by the point of view of other characters in a story.
3. Speech. The author can give information by what a character says in the
story. The conversation between the analyzed character and other characters gives the reader some descriptions about hisher characteristics.
4. Past life. What has happened to the character in a story can give the readers
much better information in understanding the characteristics of a character. 5.
Conversation of others. The author gives an easy clue to understand a characteristics by how other characters in a story talking about the character
being analyzed. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
6. Reaction. The reaction of a character to something, an accident, a conflict and
else given by the author can help the reader to understand the characters. 7.
Direct comment. The author gives a direct description of a character’s thought, mind, and feeling.
8. Thought. The author gives the reader a direct description and perspectives of
what’s on the character’s mind. It can reflect the character’s characteristics. 9.
Mannerism. The author can describe a character by hisher manners or habits. The writer does not use all the elements of the nine-elements of the theory of
characters and characterization. The writer uses only several ways that can help in analyzing the character in the novel. Those chosen elements are used by the writer
to find out the characteristic of the existing character in the novel
The Queen of the Tearling
.
2. Theory of Conflict
The conflict happens in a story can identify the explicit messages in the story. Theory of conflict will be able to help the writer to analyze the conflict
which is faced by the character of
The Queen of the Tearling
. According to Laurence Perrine in
The Sound, Sense, and Structure
, the conflict was a fight between the actions, ideas, and desires between two people or
between people in a society. A conflict can also be detailed as physical, mental, emotional, or moral. Conflict could also be something that is easy or even difficult
to understand 1974: 44. Holman and Harmon in
A Handbook to Literature
1986:107 define and divide conflict into four types. According to them, conflict is a struggle that
occurs when two focuses become opposite in a storyline. Four types of the conflict according to Holman and Harmon were as follows,
a. A struggle against nature
This conflict is presented when a character is struggling with the natural surroundings. An example is when a character has to fight natural disasters
such earthquake, tsunami, storm, etc. b.
A struggle against another person This conflict is shown when a character has to face the other characters
either physically, mentally, or thought. c.
A struggle against society This conflict is shown when a character is dealing with the mind of a
community. A character has a different idea with the public at a large scope. d.
A struggle against fate or destiny This conflict is shown when a character must fight the Creator, which is
God. A character shall face hisher destiny to make hisher decision. Meanwhile Stanton’s
Introduction to Fiction
describes the conflict into two main parts. Two important parts are internal conflict and external conflict.
Stanton describes it as follows, a.
Internal Conflict This conflict is indicated when a character
’s having argument against himherself. A protagonist argues with himherself. The argument lasts the
entire storyline. Things become an argument between characters by themselves is about determining the right decisions that will be taken.
b. External Conflict
This conflict is indicated when a character againsts 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.
3. Theory of Message
A message is an element that we often find in a work of art. The artwork can be sculpture, paintings, and literary works. In this study, the writer wants to
reveal the message of a novel, one form of literary works.
An Introduction of the Study of Literature
by Henry Hudson states that a good message is a message that is most likely unconscious. Many of literary work authors are trying to say and
give a clue to all these possibilities through their works. A good message does not stand with the common pattern but rather leads to a humanity and norm value
pattern 1958: 23. Whereas, on the book titled
New Worlds of Literature
by Beaty Hunter, a detailed message is as easy as a real meaning or a conclusion that is
already in a work 1989: 899. Meaning to say, a message is a picture of the conclusion of the values that can be taken from a story.
According to Kenny in
How to Analyze Fiction
, it is explained that when people are talking about a message, they usually also discusses the moral values.
Thus, it can be concluded that the moral values could be a good or bad learning PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
