
Think about the time when you would listen to other’s opinions and succumb peer-pressure instead of doing what you want. The moment when you finally listened to your own voice and did what you wanted was a great feeling. Many people experience this at some point in life including Mary Oliver, author of The Journey. Mary Oliver was born in 1935 and began writing as a young teen. She’s always wanted to make something of herself as a writer as she traveled around to get more experience. She ended up falling in love with a photographer, Molly Cook, who would become her partner for more than forty years. Oliver had a same sex marriage in the 1960’s. At that time, a same sex marriage was unorthodox and frowned upon. She chose to follow her own voice and did what made her happy instead of what made others happy. In the poem, The Journey, Mary Oliver uses the repeated word “voices” to develop the theme of self-discovery. 

Oliver says in the poem “though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice… tug at your ankles”. This is saying that the voices represent the negative thoughts that you have. In this instance these are the thoughts that you try to drown out. It shows that you know you need to get the dark thoughts out of your head. These are the thoughts that often turn people down the wrong path in life and make them not follow their dream. In reality, our own thoughts are really the voices around us but it is what you make of it. The tug at your ankles is your thoughts telling you not to purse your big dreams and to instead dream small so the thoughts are always there. Also, it represents the resistance you feel when you try to leave your comfort zone. This shows that it’s not a battle with someone else but actually this is an internal struggle. The theme starts to slowly appear in the first few lines because the only way to stop fighting a battle with yourself is self-discovery. 

An internal struggle is the most difficult to get past. Oliver said “‘Mend my life!’ each voice cried. But you didn’t stop.” In this instance the person is starting to think positively. The dark thoughts are wanting to stay and keep you scared of moving forward in life. taken care of because they will soon be no more. “But you didn’t stop” represents the person going through this hardship in life and moving on and continuing with their goals. It’s an example of ignoring the distractions that’ll take you away from your own voice, positive thoughts, and keep you on the right track. This is when you slowly start breaking out of the dark thoughts and start to pursue self-discovery.

The obstacles that someone must overcome to find their own voice takes time. The quote “little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds” represents the theme really well. It shows that the even though it takes time to find yourself but with perseverance you can overcome the obstacles. “The stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds” shows that the dark thoughts are dissipating and your own thoughts are shining through. The internal struggle that someone has is gone and now can see the light that’ll guide them to the right path which in reality is self-discovery. 

“There was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world.” This quote shows that there is only one “voice” and it is your own. It symbolizes that the voice has been deep inside throughout the entire journey to help find self-discovery. Through the character’s maturation process all dark thoughts have been eliminated from the picture. This shows that the only one stopping you from your dreams is you. Self-discovery is an important factor in your future.

In the poem, The Journey, Mary Oliver uses the repeated word “voices” to develop the theme of self-discovery. The repeated word “voices” is used throughout the poem to show the struggle of finding yourself but the reward if you can persevere through the internal battle of trying to decipher right from wrong. Throughout the poem the word “voices” changed into “voice” at the end to symbolize one’s self-discovery. The character in The Journey shows tremendous evolution as a person in being able to decide between what is right and what is wrong. 