In today’s modern society there has been an overwhelming amount of pressure on every individual to be and act like a normal person. This has developed over many years and has become even more elaborate as technology and societies opinions have developed into a more liberal mentality of questioning traditional values. With the rapid development of technology people are now able to receive direct or indirect pressure from those around them. This causes people to question who they are and what they say or do. In Mary Oliver’s “The Journey”, there is a theme of questioning oneself and pressure from outside forces. Although “The Journey” was written or first appeared in the 1980’s, when technology and society were in a phase of new ideas and pop culture was booming, there was still insurmountable pressure on people and writers to be normal. Mary Oliver challenges these ideas by showing that by going on a self-discovering journey one can, overcome outside voices and challenges, stay determined and focused with the right mentality, and that one can become completely self-aware by completing a journey.

In Mary Oliver’s “The Journey” there is an overarching theme of self-discovery. Oliver is trying to express to her readers that the world and society that is around them is full of distractions and outside influences. Each influence is not only a way to reevaluate one’s life but it is also a way to become confident in life and to resist the pressure. In lines 1-5 Oliver states that you have to remain strong and continue on the path. “One day you finally knew / what you had to do, and began, / though the voices around you / kept shouting / their bad advice— “. Here Mary Oliver is telling her readers that to discover oneself they need to get up and begin on a metaphorical journey. “and you felt the old tug / at your ankles. / ‘Mend my life!’” (8-10). In these lines Oliver is telling her readers that the journey to self-discovery will not be easy. There will be many distractions, or “tugs” that will aim to discourage those on the journey, and Oliver wants them to discard those voices and tugs and continue on the search for a way to “Mend my life!” (10).

As comes with any type of journey or challenge there will be distractions and there will be a need to stay determined to complete the journey. Mary Oliver shows this type of perseverance in lines 12-15. “But you didn’t stop. / You knew what you had to do, / though the wind pried / with its stiff fingers”. In this quote Oliver not only uses the words to show to importance of being and remaining determined she uses the punctuation. In line 12 Oliver makes this its own sentence, only four words, “But you didn’t stop.”. This emphasizes the pure determination and grit that a person needs to overcome their challenges and to face their fears, all to discover themselves. “But little by little, / as you left their voices behind, / the stars began to burn / through the sheets of clouds,” (23-25). In these lines Mary Oliver shows that with good determination comes reward. The stars burning through the clouds can be seen as a sign of better times or achievement, almost as if they were to be emerging from the clouds of a rain storm.

Through the progression of the self-discovering journey and the literal progression of lines in the poem itself. “and there was a new voice / which you slowly / recognized as your own,” (27-29). This quotes shows a shift from how the voices at the beginning of the poem were believed to be bad advice or others. Now at the end of the poem the voices have become those of the person on the journey. As the poem progresses Oliver shows that through the journey of self-discovery one becomes more self-aware and independent of the outside voices and influences. Mary Oliver shows this in line 33-36, “determined to / the only thing you could do-- / determined to save / the only life you could save.”.  These lines show how at the beginning of the journey there was a mentality of being determined to do something but not actually do it. Now at the end of the journey there is a sense of confidence to do what needs to be done. This is saying that the journey to self-discovery has been completed. There is a sense of direction and meaning that is newly found. Mary Oliver is showing how through the use of our emotions and thoughts one can overcome any obstacle. 

As many before her, Mary Oliver has challenged the normal. Mary Oliver has given her reader a poetic rhetorical guide to follow to be self-aware and to overcome the challenges of life. Through her use of phrases, repetition and determination she has made her readers be able to see how to best discover themselves. Oliver has targeted the emotions and feelings of some reader that may feel lost or troubled on the path of life or any other journey that they may be on. Mary Oliver challenges the ideas of society or those of others and shows that by going on a self-discovering journey one can, overcome outside voices and challenges, stay determined and focused with the right mentality, and that one can become completely self-aware by completing a journey. Through her appeal to her intended audience using both physical and emotional references and themes she captured the reader’s attention and drew them in, then she took them on a journey in itself that showed them the way to self-discovery that allows them to apply it in their own life. Oliver uses little logic in her work as with most poems, her argument is solely emotional she wants to make the reader feel like there is a way to solve things with emotions and she does by taking the readers on a “The Journey”.
