Linden Hills

The American dream is the idea that anyone can rise in both wealth and prosperity through hard work and the equality afforded by the Declaration of Independence. The American dream has been proven a false and empty ideal primarily because most people are not born equal as a result of enormous wealth disparities and unequal treatment based on race, gender, sexuality, and religion. In Linden Hills, Naylor critiques the American dream—particularly the pursuit of the American dream in black communities—using the Linden Hills neighborhood as a metaphor. In the novel’s very first chapter, the narrator describes how “making it into Linden Hills meant ‘making it,’” where the phrase “making it” is an obvious allusion to the higher status promised by the American dream (15). Naylor illustrates what can happen to individuals once they obtain a Linden Hills address—and thus the American dream—through the characters of Winston Alcott (who rejects love for status), Xavier Donnell (who must decide between love and happiness or success), Reverend Michael Hollis (an alcoholic adulterer), and Laurel Dumont (who commits suicide). Each individual is deeply troubled, unhappy, and, in most cases, debased in character as a result of having pursued status and success at the cost of everything else.