Living in the same middle class white suburb, one would think that each character’s American dream would be at least somewhat similar. This is not completely true, however. Examining the dreams of the different characters, we will find that they are not similar because they live in this type of society; but they are affected by the society in which they live. We will also realize that each character’s dream will either be to fit more into their expected role in society, or to separate themselves from that role.

The first character whose American dream is to fit more into the community in which they live is Caroline. When she is introduced in the movie, she seems to be living her American dream. She looks to be a successful, happy woman who is very confident in herself and her abilities. As she often quotes Budd

The American dream is seen on numerous occasions throughout the movie. Each character examined has their own version of the American dream that is influenced both by the society in which they live and the way that society expects them to behave. Angela and Caroline try to convince not only society, but also themselves that they fit into the role they are expected to have. Lester and Ricky, on the other hand, spend the movie removing themselves from the typical role society expects them to fit into.

Lester and Ricky are somewhat the opposites of Caroline and Angela. Instead of wishing to fitting into the mold which society has set for them, Lester and Ricky wish to be different. Being the son of a retired military officer, Ricky is expected to be disciplined and structured. We quickly learn that he is anything but. Although many people may consider Ricky weird and at least somewhat creepy, he is simply living out his American dream. This dream is to spend his time enjoying the beautiful things in the world. Although he sells marijuana, he is not a pot-head; he simply does this in order to pay for his love for videotaping life. From examining these videos, Ricky is able to appreciate the beauty in everyday life. Unlike Caroline and Angela, Ricky does not pretend to be living out his American dream; he is actually living it out.

During an argument, Caroline tells Lester that she will divorce him if he continues to ignore her and treat her the way that he used to. At this point, he realizes that he has been too submissive for the past twenty years and decides to live his life the way he wants to. He then begins to live out his American dream, doing whatever he pleases. As it turns out, Lester wants “The least responsibility possible.”

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