The story Sixpence by modern short story author Katherine Mansfield deals with life in a family with a disobedient son, and parents, who are forced to make difficult decisions concerning the upbringing of their children. It is written in the third person narrative with some elements of dialogues and monologues. Its register is informal because the story is about an ordinary working class family, whose speech is highly colloquial and uncomplicated. The author has thoroughly developed the dialogues and each character’s idiolect, as their speech sounds natural and unconstrained. Direct characterization of Dicky is disclosed in the beginning of the story where he is said to be overall good, yet sometimes mischievous. On the contrary, the reader can only judge about his mother by her speech and attitude towards her son – indirect characterization.…
