Comparing Beam And Maxine Hong Kingston

How often does one truly recognize the relevance of death? Christopher Beam
focuses on the decline of serial killers since the '80s in his article "Blood Loss". Conversely, Maxine Hong Kingston centers her article "No Name Woman" on the constraints of traditional Chinese values. Despite their differences, however, the articles of both writers illustrate many similarities. The admirable differences in the approaches to morbidity by Beam and Kingston iterate their mutual concern for the well-being of society and their sheer fascination with death.
Beam argues that although the television fascination with serial killers has
increased, the prominence of the killers themselves has not. The fascination with serial killers has increased drastically due to the absence of the real-life killers. “Serial killers just aren’t the sensation they used to be.” (Beam 2). Beam is suggesting that the decline in serial killers is due to better law enforcement and the increased incarceration rate. “...the decline in serial murders tracks with a dramatic drop in overall violent crime since the ‘80s.” (Beam 6).

Whereas Beam argues facts as concrete evidence of his article, Kingston utilizes her imagination to form opinions of her family's behavior.
Kingston argues that her family's traditional Chinese values have prohibited them
from accepting the idea that her aunt's act of adultery was not an individual action- she was coerced by a man who desired her.

Kingston’s belief is that Chinese beliefs and attitudes prohibit her family from being more understanding of her aunt's actions. “The Chinese are always very frightened of the drowned one, whose weeping ghost, wet hair hanging and skin bloated, waits silently by the water to pull down a substitute.” (Kingston 49). Kingston is suggesting that if her family developed a more liberal, or more American, perspective of her aunt’s actions then they might be more understanding of the situation. “The real punishment was not the raid swiftly inflicted by the villagers, but the family’s deliberately forgetting her.” (Kingston 48). Although Kingston's approach to her article is more imaginary, her article demonstrates remarkable similarities to that of

Beam.
Beam and Kingston both demonstrate a sense of awe towards morbidity and
reflect on the value of death. Beam is clearly upset with the decline of serial killers. "Stephen Griffiths isn't the new Jeffrey Dahmer. The Times Square bomber is." (Beam 11). This proves that he identifies the replacement of serial killers with new phenomenons. Kingston feels that her aunt's death symbolizes an important message. "I alone devote pages of paper to her." (Kingston 49). This shows that she has a sense of respect for her deceased aunt. Both authors want explanations for their respective topics. Beam suggests an explanation for the decline and Kingston imagines the experience of her aunt. Both authors clearly represent their fascination with morbidity while maintaining separate styles of writing.
Obvious differences and similarities between the articles of Beam and Kingston
are necessary to distinguish between their styles of writing. Beam utilizes statistics and facts to validate his argument that serial killers have declined since the '80s, while correctly inferring that it is due to the change of era. Kingston's vivid imagination creates her depiction of the wrong-doings of her family and the inconvenience of their traditional Chinese values. Despite their differences in approach, both authors recognize the necessity of morbidity to persons.Beam and Kingston illustrate laudable writing techniques that are essential to their opinions of the mutual topic- death.