Comparing The Vegetarian And The Moon Lady

In both The Vegetarian and one of the story in The Joy Luck Club, The Moon Lady, there are similarities and differences in the atmosphere and also the social norm. The Vegetarian is a story about a woman called Yeong-hye, who was haunted by the bloody nightmare became a vegetarian. However, her decision was not accepted by the other people, even her husband and family members. Finally, she became mentally disorder. The other story, The Moon Lady, is about a woman, Ying Ying, thought about her experience when she was young. She fell into the lake and her family members did not notice that. She waited for a long time and finally being saved by the strangers. She would like “the moon lady” to realize her wish, being found by her parents, however,

In The Vegetarian, Yeong-hye stopped eating meat and her husband told her mother and sister about this. After Yeong-hye’s father knew that her daughter stopped eating and cooking meat, he called her and blamed her. Yeong-hye did not listen to him and her husband, Mr Cheong, picked up the receiver and apologized. Then, Yeong-hye’s father said ‘No, I’m the one who’s ashamed.’ (Han 29) After that, when they were having a meal together, Yeong-hye’s father forced her daughter to eat meat. Based on this scene, it shows that the father thought that it is necessary for his daughter to obey him and her husband. They did not care how Yeong-hye felt and forced her to do something she did not want to. Also, they did not listen to her. They did not care about the bloody nightmare Yeong-hye dreamed. They just wanted Yeong-hye to follow the social norm, eating meat, cooking meat, and did what the father and her husband wanted her to do. The most important thing is that the father did not want her daughter to shame him. This situation can also be found in The Moon Lady. In the story, Amah told Ying Ying that did not ask too many questions, she did not need to understand and she just needed to follow her mother. She also told Ying Ying not to shame her. (Tan 69) In the boat scene, when Ying Ying was chasing the dragonfly, her mother told her that it was alright for boys to chase the

In The Vegetarian, Yeong-hye even could not sleep because of the bloody dreams. It is a long-term torment. At the same time, she needed to live under the pressure given by her husband, family members, her husband’s colleagues and the boss’s wife. No one supported her at all and it seems that she is the only protagonist and all of the other characters in the story are antagonist. Finally, she could not bear the pressure anymore and became mental disorder. In The Moon Lady, Ying Ying was saved by the strangers. Even though she became hopeless while she fell into the lake and no one found her, she was finally being saved. She would like to make a wish but she found that the moon lady was fake. She had forgotten her wish for a long period of time and she finally thought of it. It means that she thought that the opportunity of being found was low and she had even forgotten. Based on the two stories, it shows that the atmosphere created in The Vegetarian is much more depressing than that in The Moon Lady. Moreover, the ways that others forced them to follow the norms were different. In The Vegetarian, the way that Yeong-hye’s father did was violent. However, in The Moon Lady, Amah and Ying Ying’s mother only told Ying Ying to do this and to do that. They did not treat her in a violent way. The most important thing is that the ages difference between Yeong-hye and