This novel had many little inside things on life that have to do with happiness, money, love, shame/ guilt, mystery and family. This story is really about how you don't need the best things in life to be happy. You don't need a rich girlfriend or money flowing out of your pants or a new car (or carriage). All you need is family, love, support and happiness. Sure it would be nice to have the latest and best things but we don't need that in our lives. Surviving on the basics is good enough, people in the past did it so we should be able to too. Dickens expresses through his words that love is a powerful thing. Some people will do anything to look their best, that includes marring someone that they might not actually love. They just want to get with them because of their class status or wealthiness. He shows that some people do go through all the trouble to get what they want, when in the end, it hurts themselves and other people around them that cared for that person. I think the overall message is: "this is life, we make mistakes and wrong choices. We are humans and no ones perfect but you must make wise decisions. If you think your in love with someone, you can't just listen to your heart, you also have to listen to your mind." This book is relevant to people in general because in everyone's lives there is shame/guilt, love, happiness. We all have done something "bad" or "wrong" at one section in our life time, some might not like to admit it but it's true. From a little white lie to lets say.... stealing a car, the consequences might be different but the feelings inside are similar. Love impacts almost everyone at point in time. When your young there are little crushes on the cute boys and girls and the "dating" where their friends would ask you out for them and all that cute stuff. As you grow older the crushes and dating are still there but they go out to greater levels. Not everyone finds someone that they want to spend the rest of their life with and that's okay. They are happy where they are and that matters a lot. Happiness is another aspect that we all have. It is so important because if your not happy, then your not healthy. If your not happy then you don't enjoy like and start wishes for all the things that you don't have. Overall this book might be long and sometimes boring, it si full of little life lessons and messages.