Oscar Hijuelos makes an intrepid statement in Empress of the Splendid Season that the American dream is responsible for much pain and suffering to those who fail to mentally achieve this notorious desire. In our specific story of a failed American dream the author goes out of his way to explain in great detail the sexual emotions of the characters. By doing as such he tries to portray to the reader the notion that when things do not go as desired mentally, such as being poor when one desires to be rich, which is a blow to the conscious state of mind, people resort to the basic human desire, sex. This is further supported by Sigmund Freud's theory of sublimation, in which energy from a desire that cannot be fulfilled is turned into something useful and productive. If we take the notion of the "American Dream" and apply...