Who Killed Cock Robin

By Author: Henry Ford
Total Articles: 189
Comment this article

This is a typical nursery or poem which is mostly enjoyed by children who find it easy to recite. Superficially, it might look very innocent but when you closely analyze it, you will find dark meanings and messages that are concealed within the texts (Love poems, 2004). There is a hidden meaning in ‘Who Killed Cock Robin’ as this is not simply about the bird, but refers to the murder of Robin Hood who is a legend in Britain. The theme that was encompassed by Robin Hood was the fact that he forcefully took what belonged to the rich and gave it to the less fortunate in the society (Nursery rhymes lyrics and origins, 2000). A vivid description is given by ‘Who Killed Cock Robin’ on the assistance that everyone offered after cock robin’s death something that reflects the high esteem accorded to Robin Hood by the common people (Sussex, 2008).

Robin Hood Theme Present In, “Who Killed the Cock Robin”
The theme of Robin Hood has been applicable in many situations in the world today and especially in the professional fields. This was evidenced back in 1998 when almost all print media had a lot of stories ...
... about several families who had lost their babies in the hands of surgeons from Bristol during operations. There was a public outcry as to why the General Medical Council (GMC) had failed to stop the poor, innocent deaths that had rocked Bristol and left many parents devastated (Delamothe, 1998).

This was a clear indication that there was fallout for self regulation in professionals as the injunction applied by GMC failed to go through. This decision from GMC was followed by a lot of recriminations and many unanswered questions. There were two surgeons namely; Jonardan Dhasmana and James Wisheart, who had dismal results that most people were aware of. A question arose on why they were not barred from carrying out operations on young children. The Health Department, Royal College of Surgeons, the employer and colleagues were all aware about the incompetence of these two, but chose to keep quiet. There was evidence that they had been told, but they decided to keep mum as these surgeries generated a lot of income. This caused the deaths of innocent babies while the doctors enjoyed luxurious lives from their high incomes (Delamothe, 1998).

The GMC tried to justify that they had issued a warning to most consultants that their conduct elicited a lot of questions. Apart from the GMC, there is also a NHS trust, which is present in United Bristol Health Care, which should have probed the poor results. A general consensus was however drawn that their silence was aimed at enhancing the status of the hospital through provision of pediatric surgery which is complicated. This made this body to be blind to the dismal results that were being produced by surgeons, in a bid to uplift the status of the hospital and get more money. This is similar to what was happening in the era of Robin Hood where the poor were oppressed by the rich (Delamothe, 1998).

A former president of Royal College of Surgeons, Sir Terrence English had raised concerns about the conduct of the unit in Bristol and had dutifully notified the Health Department through a phone call. Back in 1989, the Health Department was fully aware that the referrals in Bristol were very few and the mortality rate associated with operations was very high. Although similar messages were relayed to the Health Department for several years, they chose to do nothing about it and this led to the death of more innocent children. Doctor Stephen Bolsin was equivalent to Robin Hood, as he blew the whistle on Bristol in 1990. He achieved this by launching a campaign that drew the attention to the mortality rate that was so high in the Bristol unit. He chose to risk his professional life to save the society from the oppression that the medical fraternity in Bristol was carrying out.

Who killed Cock Robin? I, said the Sparrow, With my bow and arrow, I killed Cock Robin. Who saw him die? I, said the Fly, With my little eye, I saw him die. (Nursery rhymes lyrics and origins, 2000).The above words from ‘Who Killed Cock Robin’ best describes what Doctor Stephen went through. Just like the legend Robin Hood, he suffered a similar fate of being ostracized which led to his earnings dwindling forcing him to immigrate to Australia (Delamothe, 1998).

The medical fraternity shunned him, although he was canonized by the media. This was such high individual price to pay for a doctor who did nothing but try to save the public from greed and betrayal. The good doctor chose morality, ethics and integrity over reputation and money. His efforts were killed by the medical practitioners similar to what happened to Robin Hood. The media is the only one that appreciated his efforts and this is equivalent to the animals agreeing to bury the cock robin in the poem. We see each animal agreeing to perform a specific task to ensure that cock robin is accorded a decent burial as a hero (Nursery rhymes lyrics and origins, 2000).

When it was impossible for Bristol to cover up the mortality no more in 1995, Dr. Stephen was remembered as a hero and his morality was duly captured by television. He tried to save baby Joshua Loveday by disagreeing that Dhasmana should carry out a heart operation on the baby (Delamothe, 1998). He doubted the competence of Dhasmana and urged the parents to rescue the baby and take him home before it was too late. His instincts were true as the baby died during operation in the hands of Dhasmana. The GMC carried out an enquiry into this case and exonerated the surgeon and Bristol hospital. This was a total failure on their part to instill the self regulation principle on professionals. This is similar to what happened to the cock bird in the poem, as it is crystal clear that GMC killed and buried self regulation among professions in the medical fraternity in Britain (Delamothe, 1998).

Conclusion
From the above reviews, it is clear that poems can be dismissed as nursery rhymes and songs that have simple meanings. However, thorough analysis will bring out the hidden meaning and themes which can be applied in the occurrences that happen daily. The analysis of this poem has been built upon the theme by Robin Hood who helped the poor by stealing from the rich. The incompetence in Bristol pediatric unit back in 1990s has clearly applied this theme which shows that those who imitate Robin Hood’s actions suffer a similar fate.

The author is associated with

The author is senior writer at https://www.allacademicanswers.com