"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!
And all the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again."
Ah...one of my favorite children's rhyme. Knew it for as long as I could remember. Yet years after learning about the tragedy of poor Mr. Dumpty, unanswered questions continue to haunt me:
(1) Why was Humpty Dumpty sitting on the wall in the first place? Who put him there? As far as we can tell from the forensics Mr. Dumpty was alone on top of the wall when the fateful fall occured. Where were the people who put him there? Why was he allowed to remain on top of the wall alone?
(2) If, and we are speculating here beyond the available evidence...but hypothetically speaking, if Mr. Dumpty had expressed a desire not to be on the wall, were the people who left him alone up there held accountable for the fall? Should they share some responsibility?
(3) Did anyone ask why Mr. Dumpty fell? Was it an accident? A simple act of recklessness or carelessness? Was he pushed? Was it a suicide attempt? Does it matter to anybody why? Did anyone even bother to ask before the mop up operation began?
(4) When the King's horses and the King's men discovered that Mr. Dumpty was beyond repair, what did they do? Did they just leave him there? Evidence seems to suggest that Mr. Dumpty was alive after the fall, albeit badly broken. Did they conclude that a broken Humpty Dumpty is no longer fit for their company?
(5) More importantly, did anyone learn anything from Mr. Dumpty's fall? Was anything done to prevent the same thing from happening again? Or did they simply put another Mr. Dumpty on the wall again?
So in the story, we met Mr. Dumpty, we met the King's horses, we met the King's men...of course there remains the most troubling question in all of this:
Where was the King?
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8 comments:
When I first heard about the fall of Mr. Dumpty, my first reaction was "No big deal, all men (may be not all) are likely going through similar fall in life. After all, Mr. Dumpty is human.
Unfortunately, Mr. Dumpty is descendant of the dragon and carries with him a lot of baggage not like the cowboy in the more liberal west.
Mr. Dumpty should just reassemble himself, get up and move on.
Deep#:
I found your comment strangely encouraging...don't know why. Thank you...Here's to Mr. Dumpty reassembling himself, getting up, and hopefully moving on :-)
Thanks again!
I read through the article a few times. What I got is that who is responsible? Based on the thought of the article, I think everyone is responsible, even the King is responsible.
We can't be responsible for others but at least we are responsible for ourselves.
We can't ask others to be responsible for their acts but we can ask ourselves to be responsible for our acts.
It seems that we should make those who are responsible to be responsible but when we do that, we must be held responsible for making others being responsible.
I am getting very confusing about all these responsibilities but I think I should be responsible and stop here.
Hi Ah Lam,
It doesn't matter when we fall down, as long as we can get up and go on with our lives. Right? We are all human. Forget the past and look forward to the future. You are constantly in my prayer.
Fall Down? Who doesn't? Babies do. Young People do. Middle men do. Elder people do. It's O.K. as long as we don't make the same thing happens again. Be brave enough to get up and start a new life in a new year. Spring is on the way, not far away although the weather is still freezing now.
Below is what i have found (cut and paste) from the internet about the historical meaning of Humpty Dumpty.
According to an insert taken from the East Anglia Tourist Board in England, Humpty Dumpty was a powerful cannon used in the Siege of Colchester during the English Civil War. It was mounted on top of the St. Mary's at the Wall Church in Colchester defending the city against siege in the summer of 1648. Although Colchester was a Royalist stronghold, it was besieged by the Roundheads for 11 weeks before finally falling. The church tower was hit by enemy cannon fire and the top of the tower was blown off, sending "Humpty" tumbling to the ground. Naturally all the King's horses and all the King's men (Royalist cavalry and infantry respectively) tried to mend "him" but in vain. Other reports have Humpty Dumpty referring to a sniper nicknamed One-Eyed Thompson, who occupied the same church tower.
When you compare the history with what have been happening, especially the metaphorical meaning of "church tower" and "canon" (please think like an Anglican), you will find things are both absurd and ironic.
The question is: Which one fall first, church or Mr. Humpty Dumpty?
Or the better version is: Who really got hit by the enemy?
a) Church,
b) Canon or
c)all of the above?
I like multiple choice, bring back a lot of memories.
Hm...and I thought humpty dumpty was just a children's rhyme and a brand of potato chips...
Another origin had "Humpty Dumpty" as a king.
"Humpty Dumpty" referred to King Richard III, the hunchbacked monarch. At the Battle of Bosworth Field, he fell from his steed, a horse he had named "Wall" (as dramatically rendered in Shakespeare's play "Richard III": "A horse! A horse! My Kingdom for a Horse!") Richard was surrounded by enemy troops in the battle, and was butchered right there, his body being hacked to pieces. Hence the final part of the rhyme: "All the King's Horses and All the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again!"
I think it's pretty fitting to think that anybody of importance being put high on the pedestal is like a king being looked up to. The fall from the high wall is definitely more painful than from a chair, for example. When the enemy wants to attack, they'd naturally attack the king to cause the kingdom to crumble. Satan could easily had been the attacker and we need to brace ourselves against any further damage because we believe in a victorious God.
You have been in our prayers!
Anonymous
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