It always comes back to get you

 

In the beginning of the novel Duddy was told he would never be anyone or be successful. Throughout the story he started proving them wrong but in the last section of the novel, all the short cuts he took to get successful and rich are all coming back to him. In the end he’s left with nothing and that is an important life lesson because no matter what your dreams are, if you put all your loved ones aside and your dreams fail, you will be left with nothing. Balance is key in this type of situation because no matter what happens, if you didn’t put anything aside, you can always go back to square one.

The end of the novel also shows that sometimes, taking the shortest pat to success is not the right thing to do. For example, in a letter, his late uncle tells Duddy that he has to choose to be a gentleman over the greedy and bitter man he is becoming. This wake up call from his uncle shows that Duddy could have become just as successful with a little bit more time if he chose to be nice to people.