The term "American Dream" first was used by the American historian James Truslow Adams in his book "The Epic of America" published in 19311. At that time the United States were suffering under the Great Depression2. Adams used the term to describe the complex beliefs, religious promises and political and social expectations.
"The American Dream" has become a widespread term to describe the American Way of Life3 in general, but it is by far not that easy." The American Dream" always has something individual. That is, why till today no one succeeded in giving a universally acceptable definition of the term.
Another reason is the permanent change of the "American Dream", which always made it a highly discussed topic within the American Society. So, not only American authors like T.C Boyle4 in his novel "The Tortilla Curtain"5 are dealing with the topic of "The American Dream", but also Hollywood used and still uses it in a lot of movies, for example in "Pretty Woman"6.