       In life, you are the only one in control of the way you deal with adversities you face.

Finding oneself is an important journey, and one that is full of obstacles you can learn from. In Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Journey”, she presents the difficult process of finding oneself. As you encounter hardships, you learn about yourself more and more. You also learn how to deal with life and anticipating problems better. Although there can be tough times, dealing with these problems we face makes us stronger, even if we feel weak during the journey. In “The Journey”, Oliver uses imagery, word choice and syntax structure to describe the journey of life and inspire hope in the face of obstacles encountered during this journey of finding oneself.

       Using intense imagery, Mary Oliver creates a vivid visual of the struggle of finding oneself. Oliver compares the process of finding oneself to a storm that has left debris and destruction behind in its tracks. She starts the poem with a descriptive image of a scene of the destructive storm that is terrorizing a house and the roads. It starts off very hopeless and sad, but eventually describes overcoming the destruction. Understanding that you are the only one in control helps you fix the damage and overcome the storm. Oliver describes life as the “wind [that] prie[s]/ with its stiff fingers” and tries to break you down (14-15). She also describes the obstacles we face as “fallen/ branches and stones” from the storm (21-22). This intense image that you can close your eyes and imagine is very powerful and adds to the overall story Oliver weaves. Everyone can relate to these “branches and stones” that we face as we go through our lives (Oliver, 22). Although it can be hard at first to find the hope that gives one the ability to overcome adversity; Finding oneself can be the answer to discovering that hope within yourself. Oliver describes the “whole house/ [beginning] to tremble” as an allegory for life becoming hard at times (6-7). These lines describing a house being shaken and pried instill the distressed feeling that everyone has felt while encountering an obstacle. Oliver also alludes to society and all its pressures as the “voices around you” that “[keep] shouting/ their bad advice” (3-4). This image of people shouting their bad advice is very accurate to what society really does. Society directs people what is right and what is and is not normal, as though society is shouting it’s rules at you. I think that the line, “But you didn’t stop” responds to the “voices” that Oliver mentions (12). I believe that saying that “you didn’t stop” is taking a statement against the “voices” and starting the process of self-awareness and self-acceptance. This response is firm and secure and corresponds with the turning point of the poem (12,3). With this response, positivity starts to creep in and take over the negative imagery she creates at the beginning of the poem. All the imagery Oliver uses in her poem creates a strong connection between the literal meaning of her poem and the physical images she describes. 

       Oliver also uses specific word choice in her poem to develop the mood. She uses word choice to break the poem into sections, with each section creating a certain mood. Oliver has chosen very descriptive words to depict the intense scenes of debris and destruction in the beginning of her poem. She uses the words “shouting”, “tremble”, “cried”, “pried”, and “fallen branches and stones” to describe the beginning scene (4,11,14,21-22). At first, the language is very harsh and intense. There does not seem to be any hope to fix what has been ruined by this storm or obstacle in life. With the use of these specific words, we understand the tone of the beginning of the poem. The language reflects the lack of self that people have when they face difficulties in life. In the middle part of her poem she uses more neutral words and phrases such as, “you left their voices behind”, “new voice”, and “slowly” (24,27,28). In this part of the poem, she creates a more hopeful image and there is a sense of determination to mend the destruction and face whatever is to come. With the use of these words, there is less of a negative connotation than in the first part. The process of finding oneself can be overwhelming, but with hope, there is a chance. In the end of the poem, she uses very positive words such as, “determined”, and “save”. The mood begins to shift and by the end of the poem, determination is the overwhelming tone (33,35). The beginning of the poem contrasts a great deal with the conclusion. It is surprising that the poem ends the way it does with such positivity when the first part of the poem has such harsh words. With the certain words that Oliver uses, the specific tones of each section of the poem are emphasized.

       Along with word choice, Oliver varies the syntactic structure in her poem. The structure of the sentences helps add to the tone and journey of the poem. The beginning portion of the poem consists of a long sentence with the introduction to the “storm”. I think this works with the poem because the introduction seems so negative and “end of the world” like, that it seems it will never get better, and never end. This long sentence contrasts well with the rest of the poem. The next sentence is a very short sentence that simply says, “But you didn’t stop” (12). This is the point in the poem that the tone switches to more positive. The reparation of oneself starts at this point in the poem. I think this sentence structure is appropriate as the turning point of the poem because it is short and contrasts greatly with the first and ending part of the poem. This sentence splits the poem in half, with the first part being harsh and hopeless, and the second part being more hopeful and positive. This sentence also comes as a surprise because of how tragic the first part is. The next portion of the poem has two normal length sentences. This section of the poem is starts to grow into a more confident ending. The line after the turning point sentence reads, “You knew what you had to do”, reflects more determination to fix the destruction described in the beginning as the speaker seems to take responsibility for oneself and the challenges ahead (13). 

       In Mary Oliver’s powerful poem, she creates drama with the use of sentence structure and word choice to describe the journey of life as a storm, as well as imagery to describe the obstacles we face as the debris and destruction left behind by this storm. The image she creates by comparing the obstacles we face to a storm is very powerful. Through these choices she makes, she has created different tones and images to make her poem even stronger and more impactful. Not only does Oliver enhance the meaning of her poem by using the specific words she uses, but she creates drama and anticipation to see how this poem ends, and surprisingly, it ends in optimism.
