
A popular Greek philosopher once said “To find yourself, think for yourself” (Socrates). Socrates means to say that if you want to become the best version of who you are, you must begin thinking about what is best for you and not what everyone else expects of you. This relates closely to Mary Oliver’s, “The Journey”. In this writing the narrator speaks poetically on ending an old lifestyle to create a better one, including the repetition of the phrase “knew what you had to do”. This set of words gives a strong sense of determination. The narrator consistently emphasizes this phrase to explain the importance of setting your mind to change your way of life. In addition, the narrator urges one to stop at nothing until you have succeeded at the goal you intended to reach. The narrator’s message for the poem is that you cannot allow yourself to conform to what society wants, rather, it is necessary to find your own voice. Oliver presents the phrase in different contexts to give the words her own meaning, using it slightly different each time: First, she speaks of finding an opportunity and beginning immediately, later she says you must persevere through the hardships, Finally, the phrase expresses that one must grow in resilience.

The narrator immediately introduces the repeated phrase, in this sense speaking of new opportunity. The first step to becoming a better version of yourself, is realizing you are not who you want to be. The narrator’s intention of the first two lines, “One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began” (lines 1-2), is that as soon as you come into realization of how society has shaped you into a lesser version of yourself, you must immediately begin making adjustments. The narrator did not say, “You finally knew what you had to do, and began next week”. There is a sense of urgency in the diction of the beginning sentence. The pressures of society criticize people for even attempting to stand out from the rest. Close-minds want to believe that there is one correct way to live your life. If it does not conform, then the result is persecution. 

Throughout the Journey, people attempted to bring the unknown character down. They gave the character several reasons as to why he should conform rather than express your individuality. Their minds believe that you need a leader to speak for you, instead of having the ability to voice your own thoughts. The narrator presents the social pressures that attempt to hold you back in the lines, “each voice cried. But you didn’t stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers” (lines 11-15). The narrator included two metaphors within these lines. The “crying voices” and “the winds” represent the society attempting to keep you from developing an inner voice. The unknown character has known what he has to do. His mind is set on a specific goal. There is nothing that can deter him. 

Eventually the unknown character notices how close he is to reaching full self-awareness. The Journey still persists yet “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” (lines 23-27). The unknown person begins to completely disregard what social pressures want of him. The stars burning through the clouds represent a sense of hope for the unknown character. He finally begins to feel progress towards his goal. In line 27 the narrator for the first time clearly distinguishes what it is that the unknown character is trying “to do”. It is now made clear that he is trying to hear his own voice that he at last “recognized as your own” (line 29). The last instance of the repeated phrase is slightly different form the rest. Here the narrator says “determined to do the only thing you could do-determined to save the only life you could save” (lines 33-36). Here instead of saying “had to do”, the narrator says “could do”. This is to say that the journey is over. Society no longer has an affect over the character. His life is saved. The word choice here relates to the overall theme of self-renewal. The use of past tense in turn of the conditional word “would” indicates that the character has transformed into the new person he sought out to become.

In conclusion, the character has transformed who he is and will continue to live an independent lifestyle. Within Oliver’s poem, The Journey, elemental uses of language supplement the theme of renewal as a whole. After reading this poem, the most prominent words are the repeated “what you had to do” and “could do”. These words serve as a statement of action required by the unknown character to advance in self-consciousness. As a reader, these words create a sense of urgency. In the middle of the poem, the narrators mention of the “road full of fallen branches and stones”, which serves as a double meaning (lines 21-22). In a literal sense, fallen branches and stones on a path hinder people from getting to their destination. In the poem the branches and stones represent hardships in the unknown character’s life that keep him from finding his voice. The rhythm of the sentences is mostly long and flowing, with a couple shorter sentences. The rhythm of the sentences relates to the overall theme, in a way that just as the sentences are long, so is the journey.  The trek is a long one. Despite how long it is, the unknown character “knew what he had to do”. This expression is mentioned three times in the poem for emphasis that the character must quickly adjust his mindset to create a better version of himself. Each time slightly different. Oliver writes “you knew what you had to do” in different contexts to give the words her own sense, using it dissimilarly each time: to begin she emphasizes the importance of a rapid change in lifestyle, next she says to continue the journey despite any difficulties, to conclude she explains that one must grow to be strong-willed. 
