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a look at the people who immigrated to America, their hopes and expectations, the arrangement of the loans, the minimum wage, and the social classes today. So, moving on to the second section which is our main part. Here we will talk about our main thesis, and also examine it through examples of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. And later on, we will also discuss if it's at all possible to achieve the American dream which will lead us to the third section of our presentation, where we will show you examples of people who have achieved the American dream. And at last, we will have a conclusion including our own thoughts on the thesis that was mentioned before. So, without further ado, we will get started. Everybody has dreams, some are large, some are small, and others are just plain crazy. From financial freedom and successful businesses to fame and luxury. The biggest challenge is figuring out what it takes to make that dream a reality. The American dream is believing that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can achieve their own version of success in a society where upward succeeding is possible for everyone. It can be achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking and a lot of hard work, rather than just by chance. The standard icon of the American dream is the Statue of Liberty. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America also states that “all men are created equally with the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. America has always been "that" country. - The perfect place to start a new life, without being judged for your culture, religion and social status. Before 1890 there were people coming from Great Britain, Ireland, the German Kingdom and Scandinavia. Then later on, also from Italy, Poland, the Balkans and Jewish people. After 1890, this changed. The economy improved in many countries which lead to the immigration of more people from East Europe. Now, now the most immigrants come from Asia Europe and Latin America. More than 1 million immigrants all over the world come to the U.S. every year to seek their American dream. America is attractive to them, because there is often more freedom to become rich or famous than the country they come from. Now, Noah will talk about the concept of the American dream, its origin and how it has changed during time. The term "American dream" goes back to the American writer and historian James Truslow Adams. He was the first to use it in his book "The Epic of America" back in 1931. He stated, that the American dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (p. 214-215) The meaning of the American Dream today has changed and expanded in its formulation. The American dream has always included achieving financial success. However, the celebrated method of acquiring money has changed over the centuries of American history. Early versions of the American dream honored thrift and hard work as the preferred way to become successful. Since the industrial revolution, however, Americans have dreamed about finding shortcuts to extravagant wealth including winning on lucrative game shows or buying lucky lottery tickets. Some people have also attempted to win millions of dollars in lawsuits in their pursuit of the American dream of instant wealth. Traditionally, Americans have sought to realize the American dream of success fame and wealth through thrift and hard work. However, the industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries began to erode the dream, replacing it with the philosophy of "get rich quick”. But if the dream and one's success are only defined as wealth and riches, it may not be accessible to all, considering the fact that this concept is used to challenging or idealistic principles, which leads us to the conclusion that not everyone can achieve the amount of wealth others have, because of all the competition and hard work required to achieve this dream. Therefore, the American dream can also be set as an illusion for some, just to "prove" their success and achievements. So here we added a quote from George Carlin. We will give you 60 seconds to read and think about this quote. So, take your time and try to understand what message... -quote- 60sec timer - asking the audience about their thoughts What are your thoughts on this quote? This kind of problematic is also mentioned in “The Great Gatsby" from F. Scott Fitzgerald. I would not like the spoil the whole story for you, so I will try to keep it as short as possible. On the surface, The Great Gatsby is a story of a thwarted love between a man and a woman. However, the main theme of the novel is much more than just that. Every character in The Great Gatsby draws inspiration from the American dream’s promise of wealth and prosperity. At the same time, this novel critiques the American dream, making you wonder if this dream is actually attainable at all. The protagonist of the novel is Jay Gatsby, the mysterious and wealthy neighbor of the narrator, Nick Carraway. Gatsby is in love with Daisy. But his dream of loving her is ruined by the difference in their social statuses. He spends his life believing that if he makes enough money and acquires enough possessions, he can transcend his lower-class birth and become equal to Daisy, reinforcing the sense that he is chasing a dream, rather than a real person. His quest of him winning her back incites all the action of the book, as well as the tragic conclusion. At the end, Nick is confronted with reality, as he realizes that his glamorous, enigmatic neighbor was the poor son of farmers, who got mixed up in criminal activities and had no true friends besides Nick. He tries to arrange a funeral for Gatsby, but none of the guests from his glamorous parties come. Which obviously makes us wonder, if the American dream is really as glamoruous as they all say it is. A variety of seductive big elusive strategies have evolved and today some may say that It is not the big money that counts: On average, it is the social contacts and freedom that count more than anything else. As said by Steve Jobs and Jason Fuhrman: America has gone through a 30-year trend of rising inequality. Experts attribute this change to factors such as unequal access to modern information and communication systems, technological development and globalization, and the preference for those with better education. The importance of the American dream is that it has often been used to challenge our idealistic principles, it is still accessible to those who strive for it but if the dream is solely wealth it isn't fully able for all. Throughout the history, African Americans have never fully gained the ability to enjoy the sense of equal opportunity promised by the American dream due to systems of racism in the American society, such as slavery, segregation, and police brutality. Although African Americans have seen great hardships throughout American history, Black social movements have helped bring the aspects of the American dream to African Americans like Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama and so on. Operah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey's life was not always one of success: as the daughter of underage parents, she often had to change her habitat as a child. According to her own information, she was sexually abused by a family member. At the age of 14, she became the mother of a son who died shortly after childbirth. Thanks to media training in high school, Oprah got on the right track. Already at the age of 19, Oprah was the first host of a local news show. After more TV jobs, Oprah was allowed to host the talk show "AM Chicago. " It became so successful thanks to Oprah Winfrey that it was renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Today, Oprah has her its own television station "OWN" and has a fortune of almost 3 billion US dollars. Chris Gardner Chris Gardner had a rough childhood. He never met his biological father and his mother was in prison. Chris and his siblings were temporarily placed in a nursing home. As a young man, Chris sold medical devices unsuccessfully.