




There is always a certain thing that holds a person back or makes them think that they’re not good enough or can’t do something. Eventually that person gets used to that way of life and settles for the baseline. Breaking through obstacles is a major mental battle and it’s something everyone needs to become a better person. Whether it’s moving on or letting go or defeating the conscience that’s saying it`s impossible to do. Through the pieces “The Journey”, by Mary Oliver, and “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace, obstacles are shown in different ways and each have to overcome the fear as in “The Journey”, and the default setting in “This is Water”. Society shapes individuals and the individuals mold to the cut outs society makes. Through the two pieces, one can analyze the life struggles one or multiple people have to deal with on a daily basis. 

The interesting thing about these two texts is that they both portray challenges one or society must overcome.  Yet they are different in the way that one is portraying a personal problem, and the other focuses on the struggles of the community as a whole. Mental health is the disorder of dealing with psychological and emotional problems that affect a person’s prosperity. Fighting a mental battle is one of the most difficult challenges to overcome. People have to find it within themselves to have the strength to move forward and surpass the obstacles. “But little by little, /as you left their voices behind, / the stars began to burn/ through the sheets of clouds, / and there was a new voice/ which you slowly/ recognized as your own” (Oliver line 23-29). The only way a person can break through is if that person finds themselves along the way, that is the true saving one can do. On the society side, if one allows themselves to be molded to their template it slowly shows that person’s self-confidence begin to fade away. 

Wisdom is known as the knowledge gained over a period of time, both texts have to gain some knowledge to surpass the struggles. In “The Journey” the speaker must learn that she needs to find faith to carry her on through life, she must have faith in herself in order to save herself from the past and what’s holding her back.  The only way for her to find strength, is to be knocked down to rock bottom and start fresh. Whereas in “This Is Water” the speaker has to realize that the center of the world doesn’t revolve around them and that he too must gain wisdom to realize they’re self-centered and there are more tragic events occurring. Conscience is key to fighting a mental battle, if the mind overpowers the body, then it’s very difficult to come back from. Getting through and making a choice of what is going to bring one down is part of gaining the wisdom to determine what is going to affect one in a negative way. “The only thing that is capital T True is that you get to decide how you`re going to see it. This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t” (Wallace XV). One must notice that they can’t dwell on the little things that don’t matter. Often people tend to blow small situations out of proportion just to gain attention. At the same time, the person must understand that everything won’t be perfect, but must look for the light at the end of the tunnel. 

On the other side of the perspective, superiority is something one must overcome, but it’s not an easy task to do because its programmed into that individual`s personality. In “This is Water”, Wallace stresses the point of people thinking they`re above all others. He states, “It’s my natural default setting. It’s the automatic way that I experience the boring, frustrating, crowded parts of adult life when I’m operating on the automatic, unconscious belief that I am the center of the world, and that my immediate needs and feelings are what should determine the worlds priorities” (Wallace XIV-XV). When someone believes they are above others it can show that they are hiding that fact that they are broken on the inside. The individual is putting on a strong confident look when really, they are fighting a personal battle within themselves and even though they’re collapsing away they don’t want to show society they are weak. Weakness shows vulnerability it gives the enemy power to manipulate their victim. The speaker in “The Journey” was struggling with the opposite problem, where in Wallace`s piece superiority is the conflict, inferiority is the battle taking place in Oliver’s piece. Fighting the battles of “their bad advice-/though the whole house began to tremble/ and you felt the old tug at your ankles. / “Mend my life!” (Oliver line 5-10). Being at rock bottom is a place where someone truly figures out who they are. The speaker in “The Journey” is inferior to others in her society because she is mentally broken on the inside, she did this to herself and she needs strength to bring her back to being stable. Being inferior breaks down a person’s self-confidence, making them an easy target for society to depict on. Both pieces show how delicate and fragile the speaker really is, logic is needed to gain the courage, courage is needed to gain confidence and confidence will get the speaker in “The Journey” back to being stable and the speaker in “This is Water”, his confidence needs to be broken down to realize he’s not as important as he believes he is; he’s not the center of attention. 

Thus, both speakers in the two texts show that they need to grow and mature in order to gain meaning of life back. Life is too short to waste time dwelling on the gloomy situations. For one to obtain the wisdom, they have to realize that there are better things out there and shouldn’t let anything hold them back. Having an open mind prevents an individual from thinking the world revolves around them. It allows the individual to show care towards others, one never knows what the other person is going through. “The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over… That is real freedom, that is being educated, and understanding how to think” (Wallace XVI). That is having compassion and shows respect not just for others, but for themselves too. By maturing over time, one would be able to look back and learn from the past, and learn how to deal with harsh times and or self-centeredness. When someone offers help, or tries to reach out to an individual, they shouldn’t be afraid to accept it. Support is a main thing that helps keep society civil.

Life struggles based on what society has thrown at a person shapes and molds who the individual becomes. Breaking through society’s barrier makes the individual gain knowledge about themselves and really finding out who they are and really how strong they are mentally. Through the two texts, wisdom is key, it is the main component that forces the person to handle harsh obstacles. If the person is strong enough, then they’ll gain wisdom, if the person gives up then they lose all motivation to move forward. What both speakers need to realize is that society is cruel, they have to defend themselves and or take a new perspective about life. 