Hello, my friends. For today:

1. Hello, my friends. For today: The American Dream

3. Or is it… • I Hear America Singingby Walt WhitmanI hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,The mason singing as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat,The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermissions or at sundown,The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,The day what belongs to the day - at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

5. Or maybe…

7. What about… I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed– I, too, am America. -Langston Hughes

8. So what do you think? • What is your American Dream? In your opinion, what is that all-fulfilling goal?

9. Well… • Is there or has there always been one singular American Dream? What is it? If there isn’t, what should it be?

10. Some historical perspective • What would Thomas Paine say? • What would Thomas Edison say? • What would Henry Ford say? • What would Malcolm X say? • What would MLK say? • What would Bill Gates say?

11. What about Gatsby? • ‘The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God - a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that – and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.’

12. Our own Platonic Conceptions • Plato was interested in the interplay between the real world and the ideal. A Platonic conception is an ideal version of yourself, in your most arrogant and hopeful moments. Let’s dig deep into our individual super-egos and create our own. • Maybe include: • Name, age, occupation(s), hobbies, residence, clothing, relationships, accomplishments, etc.

13. Local Man Saves Humanity World peace was finally achieved when the selfless, brilliant, and beloved billionaire, Will Hauser, brokered the final peace accord standing between the last two warring nations on Earth. His work as an English teacher influenced every great thinker of this generation. Their outreach, with his leadership, realigned every global religion with love, contentment and charity. His music, having recorded and performed with only the greatest musicians alive, have united all of mankind in song and spirit, ushering a golden age of humanity unlike the world has ever seen.

14. Gatsby • In what sense is he living out the classic American Dream? What’s he after? • What does he want and from whom does he want it? • And Daisy? • Remember the shirts? • Distaste for the party: pg. 107 • Tom? • His comment about “women running around too much.” • Nick? • Is he the old-fashioned western working boy?

15. Is it real? Is it alive? • Are these folks on the right track? • What is Fitzgerald trying to tell us?

16. Or a powerful delusion… • Pg. 95, 99, 110

17. After Gatsby and Daisy’s meeting… • "Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy, it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as closer as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one." (pg. 93)