<English IO - ARABY>

Part 1 (3min 30sec)

Question: Tell us about the extract, focusing on its events, ideas, and messages.

The short story [ARABY] was written by James Joyce in 1914. It is from [Dubliners] which

portrays characters who experience life changes through self-reflection or illusions. This

story is set in late 19th to early 20th century Dublin, Ireland, and North Richmond Street,

which plays an essential role in creating the story’s dark and quiet atmosphere. The title of

this story, ‘Araby’, refers to a bazaar that plays a vital role in the narrative. This novel tells

the story of the protagonist, who secretly admires Mangan's sister. To fulfill a promise to

her, he visits Araby, only to face harsh reality and anger. As a result, he sheds the illusions

he holds about the world, and the story ends with his realization of the emptiness of his

fantasies.

The extract is from the final part of the story. In this section, the protagonist visits a shop

in Araby and converses with the shopkeeper, only to realize that she views him merely as a

customer, showing no real kindness to him. At that moment, as he gazes into the dark hall,

he reflects on himself "as a creature driven and derided by vanity" and is overwhelmed by

anger. The sudden realization or insight like this is called an “epiphany.” The sudden

epiphany, which in this story occurs at the end when the protagonist, standing in the

darkened Araby, sees his illusions shatter and feels anger toward reality. This moment

signifies his loss of innocence and the distance he has traveled from his fantasies,

ultimately leading him to face reality and undergo personal growth in the story.
The short story explores self-growth through the protagonist's love story and the clash

between illusion and reality. Consumed by illusions, such as admiring Mangan’s sister and

seeing Araby as magical, the protagonist’s illusions are shattered when he visits the

bazaar. This painful realization sparks his growth, as he faces the emptiness of his

fantasies and gains a clearer understanding of reality. The story highlights the growth that

comes from the collapse of illusions.

To express this theme, various literary devices are used, notably the first-person point of

view, which allows readers to access the protagonist’s thoughts and perceptions. This

perspective enables readers to see the protagonist’s changing worldview, the collapse of

his illusions, and his internal growth—changes that are not immediately visible on the

outside. These literary techniques help readers fully comprehend the protagonist’s

transformation and the story's central theme: growth through the disillusionment of naive

dreams.
Part 2 (4min 30sec)

Question: You mentioned the central themes of the story as growth and

disillusionment. What kind of growth does he experience compared to before he

realized the illusion, and why do you say it is necessary?

I believe that in the story, the 'illusion' functions as a filter that allows the protagonist to

see the dark and brownish world, in a brighter light. Because of this, he cannot truly see

the reality of the gloomy town and instead dreams and hopes for something beyond it. In

this extract, his growth can be seen as breaking through that illusionary filter. For him, the

moment when the illusion is shattered signifies that he begins to see the world more

realistically and truthfully. In other words, his growth means that he no longer stays within

the illusion, but instead, it expands his awareness, allowing him to look deeper into the

reality hidden beneath the illusion.

I used to believe that "growth" was essential for humans. However, after seeing the

protagonist, who was initially portrayed as pure, come to realize the harshness of reality

and feel anger, I began to question, "If this is what growth means, is growth really

necessary?" I also felt a sense of sadness seeing the protagonist losing their innocence

and being consumed by the darkness of Dublin. However, despite this, like many works

that depict the growth of characters, growth is indeed essential in our lives.

In this particular work, although there may be doubts about growth due to the loss of

innocence, I believe there is meaning in the fact that through this growth, the protagonist

"came to see the truth." It’s not just about the truth of the world or reality, but about being

able to properly recognize their true feelings and circumstances that were previously

clouded by illusions. In other words, when the illusion shatters, the protagonist gains a

deeper understanding of both himself and the world around them, which allows for growth.
In this sense, I believe that growth is essential, even if it involves facing pain along the way

because it allows one to view themselves from a broader perspective and find their true

self.

Question: If you have similar experiences as the protagonist, can you share some of

them?

I also have had an experience like this, which has given me a broader perspective on

myself, and I am encountering it these days.

When I entered high school, I began living in a dormitory. Stepping away from "home," the

space I had always lived in, allowed me to discover a great deal about myself. In particular,

when I lived with my parents, they took care of many things for me and showed me a great

deal of consideration, so I rarely had to take care of myself. However, in the dormitory, no

one could always comfort me in times of pain or hardship. As a result, I had to learn how to

objectively assess and take care of my well-being. In this aspect, I believe I have grown

significantly.

I think my growth closely resembles that of the protagonist in <Araby> in the sense that I

have learned to view myself from a broader perspective. Just as the protagonist broke free

from his illusions, I, too, have grown by gradually stepping away from the boundless love

and protection of my parents. Additionally, just as I have learned a lot through this process

of growth, I believe the protagonist will also continue to learn and grow through his own

experiences. This once again demonstrates that growth is, after all, an essential part of

human life.
Part 3 (5min 30sec)

Question: Let’s discuss the experiences, which is one of the IB 5 themes. Do you think

love heals? Or does it harm? (3min 30sec)

I believe that love exists in many different forms in this world. There is love between a

teacher and a student, among family members, between friends, and even love directed

toward oneself. While these forms of love manifest in different ways, they can all ultimately

be called love because they involve ‘giving one’s heart’ to another. I see this act of love as

both destructive and transformative, regardless of its form.

Since love involves giving one's heart to someone else, it can be seen as an act of

self-destruction. I believe that no matter how strong a loving relationship is, it is

inevitable that those involved will hurt each other at times. In this sense, love becomes a

destructive force in one's life by sustaining relationships that cause pain. In other words, it

compels us to continue engaging in actions that bring us harm. Additionally, love can be

self-destructive in the sense that it sometimes forces us to act in ways we do not wish to,

simply because we ‘love’ someone.

However, at the same time, love seems to fill the broken parts of us with new versions of

ourselves. There are undoubtedly many things one can gain from a loving relationship.

Through love, one may experience being loved even for the parts of themselves they

cannot love on their own. Love also brings warmth, joy, and other emotions that come from

another’s heart. The emotions born from love help to replace the parts of ourselves that

were destroyed by love, allowing us to be reborn in new ways.

These days, I have been watching the Korean drama <When Life Gives You Tangerines>. In

this drama, there is a deep and sincere love between two characters, Ae-soon and

Gwan-sik. Watching their love, I realize that love is both a self-destructive and restorative
act. Ae-soon gives up her dream for Gwan-sik, and Gwan-sik silently works hard for her in

return. This makes me think that they are each slowly destroying themselves for the sake of

love. Yet, at the same time, their willingness to give one another the greatest kindness and

affection they can offer shows that love, despite its destructive nature, is also a force that

keeps people alive.

In this way, I believe that love provides both harm and healing at the same time, ultimately

becoming a force that sustains our lives. Q : Do A.I Machines help human life? (2min)​

Yes, I think they do. These days, AI machines help us in many ways, such as calculation,

translation, summarizing, and word research. I often get help from AI machines, especially

ChatGPT, for my school homework.

In particular, I’ve received a lot of help with translation. When I was preparing for my

history test, I needed to use German records. However, I didn’t know a single word in

German, so I was worried about my homework. Then, I thought of using ChatGPT, and I

used it as a German-Korean translation tool. Because it translates based on the context of

the text, the translations were very natural. In this way, AI, including ChatGPT, is very

helpful to humans.

However, a while ago, I realized that I was using ChatGPT too much, even to translate

English texts that I could understand on my own. I thought I was becoming too dependent

on AI and worried that one day I might not be able to manage without it.

So recently, I’ve been trying to resolve this problem and handle tasks fully on my own. Of

course, sometimes I still really want to use AI, but I try to avoid it because I know that

relying on it too much will reduce my ability to think independently.