The American Dream, a multifaceted and intricate concept, is woven from strands of ambition, opportunity, and the promise of social mobility. In its early literary portrayals, this dream was often depicted in a straightforward manner: hard work and persistence were seen as the keys to achieving prosperity and personal fulfillment. This simplistic and optimistic vision of the American Dream was championed by authors like Horatio Alger, Jr., whose rags-to-riches stories celebrated the notion that anyone, regardless of their starting point, could attain success through sheer determination and effort.