The Vegetarian Essay Questions

Explain the title of the novel.

The title of the novel references the protagonist's decision to abstain from eating meat and using animal products. Yeong-hye's seemingly innocuous decision reveals the novel's true focus, which is on themes such as violence, oppression, and radical defiance. By becoming a vegetarian, Yeong-hye defies social norms and expectations that people (particularly the men in her family) enforce. This nonconformist gesture later intensifies when Yeong-hye identifies as a plant in need of only sunlight and water as sustenance.

How is Yeong-hye's imagined transformation into a plant simultaneously an act of resistance and self-harm?

In an effort to sever herself from the violence that human beings are capable of, Yeong-hye identifies as a plant and refuses to eat. The violence that the men in her life (beginning with her father) inflict on her clearly influences this decision. In-hye observes this when she says that her sister "absorbed all her suffering inside her, deep into the marrow of her bones" (Part 3). As much as Yeong-hye's steadfast insistence on belonging to the plant kingdom gives her agency, it also brings her closer to death. By the end of Part 3, Yeong-hye is so ill from starvation that it is unclear whether she will survive.

Compare the two sisters' marriages in the novel.

Since the novel only provides brief interludes showcasing Yeong-hye's perspective, the reader mostly sees her through the eyes of the other characters. Mr. Cheong describes his wife as completely unremarkable, and In-hye's unnamed husband similarly voices a lack of passion and desire towards In-hye. Beneath the facade of endless domestic care that Yeong-hye and In-hye provide for their husbands, the sisters both experience self-directed anger and violence. This is apparent in Yeong-hye's mental deterioration and suicide attempt, and in In-hye's sudden compulsion to self-harm after her husband rapes her. With rape being a common marital experience in this novel, Han comments on the patriarchal norms that allow for such violence against women.

Discuss the final image.

The novel ends with In-hye accompanying her dying sister to the hospital. As the ambulance speeds down the mountain, In-hye gazes defiantly at the woods with a "dark and insistent" look on her face. This ambiguous image is written in a detached and poetic tone, leaving readers to make what they will of it. Han does not attempt to explain or neatly resolve everything. Instead, she portrays In-hye opening her eyes to the beauty and violence in the world.

How do dreams function in the novel?

Dreams play a pivotal role in The Vegetarian. Yeong-hye's disturbing nightmares catalyze her decision to abstain from eating meat in the first place. They deliver to her the subliminal suffering resulting from experiencing violence throughout her life. Beginning at a young age, Yeong-hye was beaten by her father. Patriarchal and conformist cultural values normalized this behavior, so it is no surprise that Yeong-hye later married a man who also tried to enforce his will in their marriage. Yeong-hye continues having dreams that lead her to further reject her humanity and merge with the plant kingdom.

Overall, revelatory dreams help In-hye empathize with her sister in Part 3. In-hye is the only remaining member of their family in contact with Yeong-hye. In-hye takes charge in choosing where Yeong-hye will receive treatment, pays the hospital bills, and consistently brings food when she visits. This empathy partly stems from In-hye awakening to her own bondage. Not only does In-hye open herself up to communicating with Yeong-hye through nature, but through dreams as well. In one such dream, In-hye has a premonition about why her sister is transforming into a tree. Yeong-hye later repeats this explanation nearly word for word. Dreams allow In-hye to cross the societal boundaries of truth, logic, and knowing.