My parents came to the United States for a better life, for better job opportunities. What motivated them was my older sister. She would always be sick. She couldn't hold down food half of the time. They wanted to provide her with a better life. 

Coming into the US they thought America would be the land of opportunity. A place to give them hope, jobs, that would be easy for them to make a living. 

Luckily after a few years they were able to hold jobs and have a place to live instead of having to share living space with an extended family. 

But that isn't the case for everyone. 

The American dream stems from America being the land of opportunity. America was supposed to bring hope, equality for all people no matter the race or class, to have freedom & to be successful in life. 

The American dream according to James Truslow Adams is described as "[the] dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." 

America the land of opportunity, the dream to succeed and more all have dwindled down.

There's a bigger gap between the poor and rich now than before & it keeps getting bigger. With how the economics are now it gets harder to achieve the American dream.  

The pay or wage inequality also is a big factor of why there's a big gap between the poor and rich.

Many families, even people living alone, live paycheck to paycheck. In other words, being a paycheck away from poverty. 

The inequality in pay also affects women. Women on Average earn 16 % less than men & only earn 84 cents for every dollar a man makes.  

Unemployment also plays a role in why the American dream feels like a fantasy. About 6.1 million people living in America are unemployed. 

That's why the American dream has failed us. How it was only an idea. How even in the 1900’s it failed. Many people were discriminated against & couldn't get jobs because of their ethnicity, race, or religion. Just how it still is today. But luckily the discrimination against any group has dwindled down.