We are living in ¡§the age of the SELF¡¨! Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-determination, self-education, self-improvement, self-reliance, and so many other selves are becoming common expressions in books, newspapers and magazines. People talk about them all the time, sometimes not even knowing what they actually mean. What is self-improvement after all? Is it something desirable? It is undeniable that self-improvement or its limitation caused by ¡§working class culture¡¨ is one of the main themes raised in the work Shirley Valentine, by Willy Russell. But is this a real life problem? Does it happen to real people, like our own neighbours or family"

According to The Oxford Paperback Dictionary, to improve is ¡§to make or become better¡¨, ¡§to make good or better use of [something]¡¨. Regarding the word by itself, one could argue that there¡¦s nothing ¡§wrong¡¨ with it and maybe there isn¡¦t. What about the use of the...