The Degenerate American DreamThe American Dream encompasses the traditional social ideals of the United States, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity. For most Americans, the goal is to be able to have a significant amount of money and/or material items. In simpler terms, the American Dream is the pursuit of freedom and the satisfaction of needs and desires. Everyone, whatever their origins or family, has the possibility and, with great determination, to realize their dream. The term "American Dream" derives from the 1931 book The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Jordan Belfort's memoir The Wolf of Wall Street, the two young men struggle to achieve the much-acclaimed "American Dream." These books have a similar mindset and that is that the dream gives us a reason to work hard and achieve a better life, but we do not know that ultimately it leads to their demise because of the lust for power and materialism. The American dream revolves around the concept of having the opportunity...