Lionel Trilling notes that the United States is the only nation to

Lionel Trilling notes that the United States is the only nation to

• A. give its name to a dream
• B. create a national myth
• C. borrow a dream from Europe
• D. forget a dream

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is how Lionel Trilling describes American national imagination as naming a dream after the country itself. He argues the United States is unique in giving its name to a dream—the American Dream—and letting that named ideal stand for opportunity, mobility, and self-invention within the national identity. This makes the country’s story inseparable from a living, widely invoked aspiration. That’s why the statement about giving its name to a dream is the best answer: it highlights the distinctive act of branding a national myth with the country’s own name. The other options don’t capture that specific move—creating a myth, borrowing a dream, or forgetting a dream—while not addressing the notable act of naming the dream after the nation.

The main idea being tested is how Lionel Trilling describes American national imagination as naming a dream after the country itself. He argues the United States is unique in giving its name to a dream—the American Dream—and letting that named ideal stand for opportunity, mobility, and self-invention within the national identity. This makes the country’s story inseparable from a living, widely invoked aspiration. That’s why the statement about giving its name to a dream is the best answer: it highlights the distinctive act of branding a national myth with the country’s own name. The other options don’t capture that specific move—creating a myth, borrowing a dream, or forgetting a dream—while not addressing the notable act of naming the dream after the nation.