Identify the following as plot or theme.

The American dream is hard to sustain in families with conflicting values.

plot

theme

This is a theme

Plot is the actions, conflicts, and overall main events a play, movie, or story. The theme is the lesson or moral of a story, movie, or play. For example, a plot would read: The little boy decided to take his dog to the park. On the way to the park, the little boy tripped on the dog's leash causing a scrape on his knee. While the little boy cried, the dog licked away his tears. This made the little boy feel better. An example of theme from Finding Nemo would be "family should always come first as they are the ones you can count on to have your back and take care of you". When you look at your example, "The American dream is hard to sustain ... " does not present events, actions, or conflicts. Therefore, this is a theme.