A Sad End to an Amazing Life

             Jim Holt’s article “Code-breaker” was published in the February 2006 issue of The New Yorker.  The article takes a look at the mysterious life and death of research scientist Alan Turing.  Holt attempts to convince his reader of the possibility that Turing’s death could have been a murder rather than a suicide.  There are instances of both pathos and ethos in Holt’s piece but neither of these is actually persuasive.

While there may be a question of murder, no strong examples or clues are fully convincing.  Turing was supposedly killed by ingesting an apple laced with cyanide.   Two examples in Holt’s (2008) article refer to Turing’s fascination with apples being used as an instrument of death (p.339 & 346).  By pointing this out Holt is likely convincing his audience that Turing did kill himself.   Holt also points out that “the only person who seems to have had doubts was Turing’s mother”.  Turing’s mother may not be the most credible source as any mother would have a hard time believing that their child would purposefully kill himself. 

The use of the emotional appeal is apparent in the idea of Turing as “a gay martyr”. Holt relies on David Leavitt’s biography of Turing a fair amount in this article.  Leavitt is known to use gay protagonists in his writing and is obviously sensitive towards Turing’s struggles as a homosexual man living in a period of non-acceptance. 

Near the end of the article Holt asks if Turing’s death was a form of martyrdom (p.346).   “Was it the perfect suicide....or, more improbably, the perfect murder?”(p.346)  At this point it is hard for the reader to form an opinion one way or another.  Holt’s article brings up more questions than it does answers.

Whether Turing’s death was a suicide, murder, or even an accident, his life was adversely affected by the homophobic mentality of society.  There has obviously been progression in this area, but has this mentality changed completely to acceptance of a person’s choice of sexuality?

Holt, J. (2008). Code-breaker.  In Ackley, K., Blank, G., & Hume, S. (Eds).  

Perspectives on contemporary issues. (pp. 337-346). Toronto: Nelson.