
In the poem, “The Journey” by Mary Oliver, Oliver’s goal is to inspire the reader to listen and trust one’s own voice instead of following the limitations set by others. The purpose of the poem is to convince the reader to journey on his or her own path while disregarding the negativity of others, and by doing this one will find refuge in being oneself. Oliver emphasizes the word, “voice,” by repeating it three times. However, throughout the poem the reader learns about the struggle of listening to other’s have a voice while not being able to use his or her own. The author tries to imply that the voices are average people in the reader’s life and that these people should not have a hold on them. In this context, the author wants the reader to ignore the voices and find one’s own path. The poem argues that the true meaning of life is something that should decided upon oneself. Oliver uses second person in “The Journey” to create a sense of intimacy with the reader. Though the voices have pessimistic attitudes and sayings, Oliver wants the reader to take away the idea of not listening to them and moving forward with one’s own life. Additionally, Oliver links the voices to imagery throughout the poem to give the voices life and thought. She uses the imagery to give the reader an idea about the negativity in life and self-actualization. Through the use of tone and changing dynamics, “Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost, connects the imagery with metaphors of the “voices” to build the poem by conveying the meaning of finding oneself. Oliver and Frost both use the idea of following one’s own path and not needing approval from others. 

The “voices” have a pessimistic and cynical attitude, which tries to convince the reader that they cannot succeed. In the line, “…the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice…” is the first time the “voices” are mentioned. Oliver immediately gives off a malicious or vile tone by using the phrases such as “shouting” and “bad advice.” Shouting is a verb that is generally done when someone is upset or angry. The use of this tone allowed the “voices” to be seen negatively to the readers. Additionally, the “bad advice” is something that reads as a red flag. In normal circumstances no person would voluntarily take bad advice, but in reality there are no normal circumstances. Oliver knows this, which is why she says to disregard completely what everyone says and move forward with life and all the obstacles and glories it has to offer. Towards the end of the poem, the voices begin to change from this unfavorable voice to becoming the reader’s own voice.  This expresses how the reader has changed into someone that the reader can listen to and trust him or herself.  

Oliver uses the “voices” to try and distract the reader from finding their path. At some point in high school, most students read the poem, “Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost. This compares to “The Journey” because students have learned to take the road less traveled and explore something new. As stated in Frost’s poem, “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Both of these poems try to convey a purpose of inspiring the reader to become who they are, and that independence and individuality is okay. Oliver’s goal of inspiring others is successful, and promotes everyone who reads this to become themselves and disregard other’s negativity. Even though the reader hears the voices of cannot and will not, it is the reader’s job to find their own voice and scream the cans and will even louder. 

The change in the “voices” attitude creates a shift in the poem by it showing how the reader can change the negativity to positivity. “But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of the clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own,” this inspirational line is the turning point in the poem. The “voices” that once stopped the reader and held them down has faded away, and the reader is able to began to listen to him or herself. This changes the voices from being something that puts someone down into something that builds someone up. In this moment, the voices changed from being an enemy of the past to becoming a promise of a future. 

These “voices” that Oliver mentions gives the poem life through the linking of imagery. This underlying imagery of the voices allows the reader to link the negative people of their own life to these voices. However, there is a shift from the negative past voices into the positive present inner voice of themselves towards the end of the poem. The voices try to distract the reader from following their true potential and being inspired to be him or herself. However, the thoughts of him or her over coming great obstacles and doing amazing things can switch the reader’s mindset into something positive. The imagery of the “voices” are all negative until the quote, “… sheets of clouds.” This expresses as the reader would be going through many sheets of clouds and slowly the voices, like clouds, would disappear, leaving the reader to find their own path. Later in the poem, Oliver says that everyone should be finding their own path and through the help of imagery, the reader is able to have a picture in their mind of what they can do to become the best version of themselves. The clouds are seen as waves of obstacles that need to be overcome and the stars in the sky are the positive comfort the reader clings to in times of need. These sheets of clouds may have many layers, but the reader learns that they are only clouds. If one believes that the clouds are just fog and not a wall, one conquers their own limitations.  (Combined paragraphs)

Voices in the poem have a distinct job of distracting and bringing the reader down. Therefore, imagery quotes like, “…the road full of fallen branches and stones,” gives the voices a negative connotation. The poem states how there are fallen branches and stones that are a mess, which makes the reader feel as though they cannot pass through the road. This causes the reader to doubt him or herself, and still describes how negative some of the voices can be. The voices continue to fight Oliver’s intention to inspire readers to be who they are. Additionally, the Robert Frost poem comes into play as an allusion. Life is a road and the reader has the option through all the branches and stones to choose either the road most often taken or the path less traveled. This puts the reader either at a standstill. Do they go through and become whom everyone else, the voices, wants them to be or do they become a special one of a kind version of themselves? This story wants the person to find their own path and not listen to the voices. Slowly, the reader begins to realize that through the road shapes them, obstacles, glories, and all in-between into the person they were meant to become. 

Mary Oliver mends words together to inspire her audience into becoming who they want to be by disregarding the doubts of others. By linking metaphors and imagery, Oliver is able to complete her goal to inspire her readers by describing circumstances in which you are doubted to those of self-actualization. The “voices” that the author speaks of are people who hold you back or keep you in a place of standstill. These “voices” are metaphors for pessimists in life that keep people from becoming who they are. Oliver links her metaphors to her imagery in the poem. The voices are seen as distracting the reader from finding their own path but the life that Oliver describes brings meaning to what self-reliance could mean. From looking at the road full of debris, one can forget how possible it is to soar through the clouds. Together, the use of metaphors and imagery are able to complete Oliver’s goal to inspire readers to become the best version of them listen to their own voice. 
