This is a tough question because I think it can more easily be said that the American Dream is kept from Isabel. If the American Dream is to "make something of yourself" in order to have more money, land, success, and stuff, then Isabel definitely isn't living it. If the American Dream is just to have the freedom to pursue your own path and desires, then that is kept from Isabel as well. When readers meet Isabel and her sister, Ruth, the two believe that they are now finally free. Unfortunately, they are resold into slavery, and Isabel is forced to be a slave for the incredibly cruel Locktons. Her focus is then on two things: Isabel needs to protect Ruth, and Isabel wants to regain her freedom. Her path toward freedom and the American Dream is made difficult by the fact that she is a black person and considered "property." She takes active steps to find ways to secure her freedom in order to pursue the American Dream, and she is finally successful near the end of the book. She forges paperwork saying that she is no longer a slave, she rescues Curzon, and they escape New York together.
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