Poison and High Dose Drug as The Cause of Death in Detective Novels: A Comparison of Agatha Christie’s and Ahmet Ümit’s Works
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17986/blm.1390Keywords:
Agatha Christie, Ahmet Ümit, Crime, Drug, PoisonAbstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the use of poison or high-dose drugs as the cause of death in western and Turkish literature.
Materials and Methods: The works of Agatha Christie and Ahmet Ümit were examined as examples of crime novels. The use of poison or high-dose drugs as the murder weapon and cause of death, the properties of these drugs and substances, and the findings of poisoning were given in the work were evaluated comparatively.
Results: In the Agatha Christie novels, various poisons and drugs are given by mixing them into the victim's food or drink. The victims ' causes of death are cyanide in “Ten Little Niggers (And Then They Were None)”, “Sparkling Cyanide” and “Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side”; and morphine in “Sad Cypress” and “Death Comes As The End”. In Agatha Christie's other novels, strychnine, taxine, thallium, phosphorus, arsenic, hemlock, aconitine, belladonna,physostigmine, nicotine and a drug containing barbituric acid have been used as the murder weapon.
In the novels of Ahmet Ümit, murder weapons such as knives and pistols appear instead of poisonous preparations that kill the victim. On the other hand, Ahmet Ümit's novel "İstanbul Hatırası" shows that the victims were neutralized with propofol, a short-acting anesthetic, before being killed, and mivacurium, a neuromuscular blocker, in “Kırlangıç Çığlığı”. The main theme in the novel "Sultanı Öldürmek" is that Fatih Sultan Mehmet may have been poisoned with opium or a similar substance, while in this novel the murder weapon is a...
Downloads
References
Moran B. Türk Romanına Eleştirel Bir Bakış 3. 12th ed. İstanbul: İletisim Yayınları; 2015.
Oskay Ü. Tek Kişilik Haçlı Seferleri. 1st ed. İstanbul: İnkılâp Kitabevi; 2000.
Canatak M. Postmodern Polisiye Roman ve Pınar Kür’ün Bir Cinayet Romanı. Türkiyat Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi. 2013;43: 223-37. https://doi.org/10.14222/Turkiyat1236 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14222/Turkiyat1172
Polisiye Edebiyatının Başkenti İstanbul [Internet]. Türkiye’nin Kültür Dergisi. 2019 [Cited 2020 Jan 20]. Available from: http://trdergisi.com/polisiye-edebiyatinin-baskenti-istanbul/
Gezer H. Türk Edebiyatında Polisiye Roman ve Ahmet Ümit’in Polisiye Roman Kurguları (unpublished thesis). Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü; 2006.
Bardell EB. Dame Agatha's Dispensary. Pharm Hist. 1984;26(1): 13-9.
Christie A. Şampanyadaki Zehir. Suveren G, translator. 8th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2017.
Christie A. Ve Ayna Kırıldı. Öztekin Ç, translator. 3rd ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2012.
Christie A. On Küçük Zenci. Yazıcıoğlu S, translator. 37th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2018.
Christie A. Porsuk Ağacı Cinayeti. Suveren G, translator. 8th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2018.
Christie A. Esrarengiz Sanık. Öztekin Ç, translator. 4th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2017.
Christie A. Ve Perde İndi. Suveren G, translator. 7th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2016.
Christie A. Sonunda Ölüm Geldi. Öztekin Ç, translator. 2nd ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2016.
Christie A. Briç Masasında Cinayet. Suveren G, translator. 8th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2019.
Christie A. Lord Edgware'i Kim Öldürdü? Suveren G, translator. 4th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2010.
Christie A. Ölüm Sessiz Geldi. Öztekin Ç, translator. 6th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2019.
Christie A. 16.50 Treni. Öztekin Ç, translator. 16th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2018.
Christie A. Ölüm Büyüsü. Öztekin Ç, translator. 4th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2018.
Christie A. Sessiz Tanık. Öztekin Ç, translator. 4th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2019.
Christie A. Büyük Dörtler. Suveren G, translator. 9th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2007.
Christie A. Ölümle Randevu. Suveren G, translator. 6th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2017.
Christie A. Beş Küçük Domuz. Suveren G, translator. 8th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2019.
Christie A. Zarif Bir Cinayet Gecesi. Öztekin Ç, translator. 1st ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2014
Christie A. Üç Perdelik Cinayet. Suveren G, translator. 3rd ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2000.
Christie A. Ölüm Adası. Öztekin Ç, translator. 4th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2019.
Christie A. Çarpık Evdeki Cesetler. Öztekin Ç, translator. 7th ed. İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar; 2018.
Ümit A. İstanbul Hatırası. 17th ed. İstanbul: Everest Yayınları; 2017.
Ümit A. To Kill a Sultan. Jobanputra R, translator. 1st ed. İstanbul: Everest Yayınları; 2018.
Ümit A. Kırlangıç Çığlığı. 1st ed. İstanbul: Everest Yayınları; 2018.
Souther K.The Tea Cyclopedia: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Drink. 1st ed. New York: Skyhorse; 2013.
Rusyniak DE, Furbee RB, Kir MA. Thallium and Arsenic Poisoning In a Small Midwestern Town. Ann Emerg Med. 2002; 39:307–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1067/mem.2002.122008
López-Muñoz F, Ucha-Udabe R, Alamo C. The History of Barbiturates A Century After Their Clinical Introduction. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2005; 1:329-43.
Al B. The Source- Synthesis- History and Use of Atropine. J Acad Emerg Med. 2014;13(1): 2-3.DOI: 10.5152/jaem.2014.1120141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5152/jaem.2014.1120141
McKeage K, Perry CM. Propofol: A Review of Its Use in Intensive Care Sedation of Adults. CNS Drugs. 2003;17(4): 235-72. https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200317040-00003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200317040-00003
Akın Ş. Propofol İnfüzyon Sendromu. J Turk Soc Intens Care. 2011;9: 116-9. https://doi.org/10.4274/tybdd.09.22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4274/tybdd.09.22
Michael Jackson. [Internet]. Vikipedi. 2020. [Cited 2020 Jan 20] Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson
Coroner Releases New Details About Michael Jackson's Death. [Internet]. CNN. 2010. [Cited 2020 Jan 20] Available from: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/09/michael.jackson.autopsy/index.html
Savarese JJ, Ali HH, Basta SJ, et al. The Clinical Neuromuscularpharmacology of Mivacurium Chloride (BW B1090U). A Short Acting Nondepolarizing Ester Neuromuscular Blocking Drug. Anesthesiology. 1988;68(5):723–32. https://doi.org/10.1097/00000542-198805000-00010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000542-198805000-00010
Farrell M. Profiles of Selected Serial Poisoning Cases. In: Criminology of Serial Poisoners. Herefordshire: Palgrave Macmillan; 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01138-3
Babinger F. Fatih Sultan Mehmed ve Zamanı. Körpe D, translator. 5th ed. İstanbul: Oğlak Yayıncılık; 2003.
Akpınar T. Fatih Sultan Mehmed’in Ölümündeki Esrar: Fatih Zehirlendi Mi? Tarih ve Toplum. 1993; 111:158-64
Uğurluel T, Kayatekin BM. Fatih Sultan Mehmed’in Ölüm Nedeni Nedir? Tarih Okulu Dergisi. 201; 30:51-9. https://doi.org/10.14225/Joh1080. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14225/Joh1080
Tekindağ M. Fatih'in Ölümü Meselesi. Tarih Dergisi. 1966;16: 95-108.
Genç V. Kanuni Sultan Süleyman’ın Nikris Hastalığına Atfedilen Farsça Bir Reçete. Belleten. 2016; 80:40-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2016.41
Mat A. Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Afyonun Tarihi. Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları. 2010; 11: 285-90.
Morrow RL, Bassett K, Maclure M, Dormuth CR. Outcomes Associated with Hospital Admissions for Accidental Opioid Overdose in British Columbia: A Retrospective Cohort Study. BMJ open. 2019; 9(5): e025567. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025567. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025567
Koçu RE. Osmanlı Padişahları. 6th ed. İstanbul: Doğan Yayıncılık; 2015.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 The Bulletin of Legal Medicine
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Journal and content of this website is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) License. The Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) allows users to copy, distribute and transmit an article, adapt the article and make commercial use of the article. The CC BY license permits commercial and non-commercial re-use of an open access article, as long as the author is properly attributed.
