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An Analysis Of Alan Bradley's The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie

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Alan Bradley includes a variety of literary elements and concepts in order to get his point across. He creates an intriguing protagonist in Flavia de Luce, who propels the plot and brings the novel to life. In The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Bradley’s use of youthful idealism, eloquent imagery, and dynamic tone emphasize Flavia’s positive attitude to contradict traditional ideas of intelligence. To begin with, Bradley conveys Flavia’s always-positive attitude many times throughout the story. For example, when Flavia’s investigation to find whether her father is innocent or not keeps failing, she sticks with it. She even heavily considers giving up when she is searching for the stamp in her father’s room. Even through all of this, …show more content…

When Bradley says “And in that instant I decided that I liked Mary, even if she didn’t like me” he expresses the fact that Flavia doesn’t set her mindset and keep it in that place. At times throughout the novel, Flavia considers giving up on the investigation. She even gets upset to the point where she thinks she is worthless. A great example is when Flavia is searching through her father’s study for the stamp. When she has hit rock bottom, on page 155 realizing that the “word” on the stamp in fact says “Bonepenny”. This moment flips her mindset rather than her original thoughts to “leave it to the police” and to “get on with her life’s work” (Bradley, 152). Bradley uses the highs and lows of Flavia’s attitude to demonstrate how women in the 50s in England can be equal and accomplish anything they put their mind to. Many women in this society don’t chase their dreams or have the jobs and skills they desire. Bradley establishes Flavia as the narrator of the novel to inspire young women and children that the “boundaries” set by society can be broken through and remade. Flavia doesn’t take no for an answer. When she is met with conflict, she figures a way to hop over that obstacle and climb higher. She is climbing towards the mountaintop of knowledge, and everybody else should

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