Wrapping up Great Expectations

In Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations many different themes are introduced and interpretations can be different. A theme I noticed woven through the book is that self-improvement and ambition can be virtuous things but can be irruptive when constant shame is involved. In our lives we all have had times when we want to for example; get an A on a paper or do better in a sport. These things are great in themselves but if our goals cut out our past then how do we really know who we are? Our past shapes us into who we are now and who we will be in the future. Self-improvement should be something that we are proud of but if shame haunts our every step than how can we really improve ourselves and become better people? Dickens uses Pip to show how this is something that everyone goes through as they grow up. Growing up is hard in its self, but if shame follows our every move we will never reach the potential that we have inside ourselves.