HEROES AND SYMBOLS

Specific Outcomes

By studying the articles related to this question you will be able to:

• identify criteria used to determine heroism
• understand Canada's traditional attitude towards heroes and determine reasons for such attitudes
• make connections between the search for heroes and the development of national identity

Setting the Stage

Before reading the articles look at the introduction to the Question:

• What is a hero? Do you have any heroes? If so, why? If not, why not?
• Compared to the U.S. we have been reluctant to praise our heroes? What evidence have you seen to support that view?
• Based on what you know, how would you answer the questions in the introduction to this Great Canadian Question?
• Are your answers confirmed or refuted by the readings?

Reading for Understanding

Questions for Charlotte Gray's first article:

• Why are we so hero-poor, according to Gray?
• What did Francis mean when he said that heroes "are :sticks used by one part of the community to beat on another"? What evidence is there to support this view?
• What seem to be the qualities Canadians value in "heroes" like Mackenzie King? In contrast, what qualities seem to disqualify other candidates Gray nominates for hero status?
• According to Gray, how do other countries deal with their heroes? What examples does she cite to support her view?
• What attempts have been made in the past to create Canadian heroes? How successful were such attempts?
• On your reading so far, does Gray bemoan the fact that Canada is hero-poor? Justify your view.

Questions for Peter C. Newman's first article:

• What do Canadian heroes have in common, according to Newman?
• What does Newman mean when he says "If God had meant us to be heroes, he wouldn't have made us Canadians"? What evidence does he offer to support this view?
• Newman notes "lapses" in our choices of heroes. What examples does he cite and why does he consider these examples to be lapses?
• What makes Riel different?
• What happens to politicians who are built up to be heroes?
• Who are Newman's nominees for heroes? What happened to their heroic status?
• What is the pun which, according to Newman, connects our heroes to our weather?

Questions for Charlotte Gray's second article:

• What is TGIH and why is it a Canadian syndrome?
• Why does Ms. Gray think we need to define heroism? What is her definition?
• What are appropriate criteria for Canadian heroes? What heroes does she offer which meet these criteria?
• Check out the website www.OurHeroes.ca and compare the heroes identified in that poll with Ms Gray's heroes. What seem to be the criteria for the heroes identified in the Dominion Institute's heroes project?

Questions for Peter C. Newman's second article:

• Why are heroes a "tough gig"?
• What does Newman mean when he says that "Heroics is the antithesis of internet"?
• Why are Canadian politicians unlikely to become heroes in Canada?
• What are Newman's criteria for generating heroes in Canada? How likely are we to get them in the near future? What evidence does he offer to support his view?

• To what parts of Newman's argument in the first essay does Gray respond?
• To what parts of Gray's argument in the first essay does Newman respond?
• On what points do they agree?
• On what points do they disagree?
• Where do you stand and why on the issue of the importance of heroes in helping us develop a Canadian identity?
• What evidence is especially important in your conclusions?