Hanway Lecture: Climate Change

Hanway Lecture: Climate Change

In “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the speakers avoid their mental illnesses which lead to their ultimate demise. However, in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, the speaker faces his emotions and seeks peace. In “The Birthmark,” Aylmer, the main character, becomes violently obsessed with removing his wife’s birthmark, and his agenda concludes with the murder of his wife. A similar theme is explored in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” in which the speaker fosters a strange fascination for the yellow wallpaper plastered in her bedroom. However, the woman is driven mad by the wallpaper and tears it down in a frenzy. In “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” the speaker struggles with depression, but is filled with joy when he experiences nature. This week I attended the annual Hanway Lecture. The discussion topic was climate change, an issue that has long been avoided, but demands acknowledgement. Visible in this week’s readings and in the Hanway Lecture, it is crucial that society acknowledges global warming and seeks solutions, or there will be dire consequences that affect many nations.

In “The Birthmark,” Aylmer discovers a red, hand-shaped birthmark that mars his wife’s  pale face and he is determined to remove it. His determination quickly morphs into obsession as he believes the mark represents her“fatal flaw of humanity” (468). Hawthorne writes, “... seeing her otherwise so perfect, he found this one defect grow more and more intolerable with every moment of their united lives” (468). Aylmer strives for perfection, a state that does not exist in our world. At the Hanway Lecture, Dr. Francisco Alpizar, director of the Economics and Environment for Development Program, discussed the economic history of global warming and steps to achieve a “gradual adjustment to perceived changes”. Humans must work to fix man-made mistakes, such as global warming, but must accept natural flaws such as appearance, mental state, and emotional ability. As Aylmer discovered, our desire to create perfection in these areas can lead to death and loss of conscience.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the speaker also has an unhealthy obsession, but with her wallpaper. The woman is mentally ill, like Aylmer, but her husband belittles her illness. Gilman states, “John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer and that satisfies him” (389). The husband’s ignorance eventually causes the woman to have a breakdown. Dr. Richard Alley, a glaciologist at the Hanway Lecture, described the grim results caused by the earth’s warming. The consequences included the sea-level rising, storms’ strengths growing, and flood and drought frequencies increasing. Just as the speaker in “The Yellow Wallpaper” ignored her mental illness, humans have ignored climate change and this action will result in a breakdown of countries throughout the world.

Finally, in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” the speaker embraces his melancholy emotions and finds a cure. The speaker is upset, but wanders into a field of daffodils and is overcome with a sense of joy. Wordsworth writes, “A poet could not be but gay/In such a jocund company” (Lines 15-16). Now, whenever he is in a “vacant or in pensive mood” (Line 20), the speaker reminisces about the flowers. At the Hanway Lecture, Dr. Danny Richter, a legislative and science director for Citizens’ Climate Lobby, discussed working with Congress to create better environmental policies. People must discover answers to global warming, just as the speaker discovered the daffodils helped his mood in the poem. Actively working to find solutions will facilitate new innovations to promote a better future.

Our flaws are rooted in our humanity, but our decisions determine the effects of our actions. Each of us must acknowledge the pressing environmental issue of climate change. If we continue to ignore this problem, like the speakers in “The Birthmark” or “The Yellow Wallpaper,” we will have caused major natural disasters that will influence the course of history. It would be beneficial to note the actions of the speaker in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” for his knowledge results in hopeful recovery. We must each be aware of the choices we make, for these will shape the future of humanity and the earth.