CBC Archives

Ask students to give examples of people who are important in a person’s life (e.g., family members, friends, co-workers). Then ask them to name some famous people. Who do you think can give insight about the characters, achievements, and lifestyles of these people? How might these impressions vary with the source of the information or with a time period in someone’s life?

Ask students to give examples of important figures who have died recently. How are their lives and achievements remembered and judged, in both positive and negative ways?

Direct students to the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site topic “Comrade” Bethune: A Controversial Hero. Divide the class into eight groups or pairs. Each group will explore one section of the site.

Have each group prepare a dramatic presentation called “The Norman Bethune I Knew” starring one person who either played a significant role in Bethune’s life or was influenced by his historical legacy. They should focus on that person’s impressions and memories of Bethune and on his or her assessment of Bethune’s life, character, achievements, and historical importance. The presentation can be an interview, monologue, or series of reminiscences.

The presentations should be about the following people:

1. Bethune’s wife, Frances Penny ( Clip #1, Fear of being mediocre)
2. Bethune’s colleague at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Dr. Edward Archibald (Clip #2, Bethune’s Montreal years)
3. Bethune’s comrade in Spain, Henning Sorensen ( Clip #3, Blood transfusions in Spain)
4. Nurse and translator Jean Ewen, who helped Bethune in China ( Clip #4, Heroism in China)
5. Bethune’s friend, Hazen Size (Clip #5, 1972: Canada honours Bethune)
6. Rev. John Houston, who lives in Bethune’s original home in Gravenhurst, Ontario (Clip #6, The horns of a dilemma)
7. Betty Cornell, Bethune’s niece (Clip #7, A family embarrassment)
8. Actor Donald Sutherland, who has played Bethune in film (Clip #8, Sutherland as Bethune)
9. A Chinese Communist Party official who promotes Bethune’s memory today (Clip #9, Selflessness lives on)

Have the groups present their dramatizations to the class. After the presentations, ask the class to compare the various impressions of Bethune as expressed by the people they portrayed. Ask for words they would use to describe Bethune and write them on the board. Ask: How is possible for the same person to be viewed in such different?

Students can prepare and present an oral or written reflection of their impressions of Dr. Norman Bethune and whether they think of him as a “hero.” They should consider Bethune’s character, achievements, and historical importance.