The “Code Breaker”, written by Jim Holt searches for answers that led Alan Turing to suicide or a victim or murder. Holt wants his readers to question the faith of Turing; for it is difficult to believe that such a practical wise man would want to end his life. When I first started to read “Code Breaker”, I thought I was reading about another war criminal who committed suicide by ingesting cyanide. The only twist to this story was the fact that the so called war criminal was homosexual. It became apparent to me that Holt was perhaps trying to find just cause in his death by revealing all facts no matter how eccentric they may be. Holt appeals to the readers through, eccentricity, logic, and reason, which instils doubt to the cause of death into the mind of the reader.
Holt begins painting a very gloom lonely picture of Turing’s life, therefore viewing Turing’s suicide as no mystery. The demons inside Turing led him down a path of isolation. Holt states, “Alan was a good-looking boy, dreamy, rather clumsy, hopelessly untidy, and not very popular with his classmates” (Holt, 2008 pg. 339). Could the reason for his suicide be a combination of era and homosexuality? Holt sustains his admirable and mysterist tone throughout “Code Breaker” as he describes Turing’s personal challenges. Although, Turing appeared to be composed and had everything going for him, I still believe he wanted to live a more honest life. According to Holt, Turing “convinced himself that he was in love with her after their night-shift code-breaking. Having convincing himself that he was in love with her, he proposed marriage, and was eagerly accepted, even after he divulged his “homosexual tendencies” to her. But he later decided it wouldn’t work and broke off the engagement” ( Pg. 342).
It was Turing success which initiates questions to his mental state at the time of his death. He had succeeded at breaking the codes of Enigma, which was considered to be impossible. Holt states, “Command refused to believe that the Enigma could have been broken, suspecting espionage and treachery” (Holt, 2008 pg.342). Not only did Turing save “countless lives” (pg.346), he simplified life for generations to come, by creating the “Turing Machine”.
Holt captivates the reader by creating mystery to Turing death, while he searches for reason. At times Turing’s life seemed lonely and undesirable, although at the time of his death his life seemed to be on the mend, and going in a positive direction. No one in Turing’s life would have suspected such a dismal end to his life. Even Turing’s mother “insisted that her son must have accidently ingested something from something from one of the chemical experiments he conducted at home” (Holt, 2008, pg. 346).
Was Turing murdered for being too wise? Or were the signs of Turing’s unhappiness that led to his tragic end. Maybe part of his success was because he had no other passion in his life. Turing already accomplished everything he set out to accomplish, so perhaps there was nothing left holding him back from letting go of his loneliness.
Do you believe Turing’s suicide was related to his homosexuality?
Thanks Charlene for this examination of Holt's article. I liked your discussion of tone and the way you identified it as an "admiring tone." Yes, I agree that Holt has much admiration for this great scientist and mathematician. You also mentioned that Holt created some mystery in his essay over the death of Turing. Again, this is a good point of analysis.
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