Wrapping up Great Expectations!

I believe the universal message Charles Dickens was trying to display is that the people who mean most to you in life should come before money and social class. While reading the book this wasn't the theme I thought was the most important but towards the end and when I finished the book, if someone were to ask me what the theme of the book I just read I would say put people before the things in life. An example of this in someones life today would be parents being so concerned about making money and having a nice lifestyle that they don't spend as much time as they should with their children. This doesn't directly parallel the story of Great Expectations but it is a good example for a likely way people put money before friendship and before those who matter most. The parents don't mean to not spend enough time with their kids just like I don't think Pip meant to purposely not spend enough time with Biddy and Joe. In the end hopefully everyone realizes people are more important than things just like Pip did in this novel.