
In Mary Oliver’s The Journey, the use of the word “you” is an incredible ploy that grabs the attention of the reader and makes them interested. This may seem like a bold claim now, but once the facts are placed out on the table all will be revealed. There are a few different ways that the author utilizes the word you but they all have one common purpose. To make the reader question its truth. Oliver knows that the reader will be cynical about the authors claim that they have been in this place. People will want to prove the text wrong and see if they actually can recall a time where they relate to this poem. 

The most common use of this word is in the phrase “you knew what you had to do”. The first time this is used is in line two. “One day you finally knew/ what you had to do, and began,/ though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice –” (Oliver, 1-3) This use of the word “you” is speaking in a very specific way. It is telling the exact thoughts going through the reader’s head at the time of this epiphany, and how they will react. It shows that the action will be followed through and that nothing will get in the way of this goal. In short, this use of “you” represents the dedication of the speaker. This is how the reader sneakily draws the reader in. Everyone has had feelings of determination at some point in their life. This is something that is easy to relate to. If someone has a goal and they will stop at nothing to reach it, they can describe their feelings at the time and generalize it so applies to anyone. Another important piece in this quote is the way the speaker uses the term “voices” to generalize the influences we encounter in life. By voices the speaker does not explicitly mean speech, but rather the things that influence us. We all experience peer pressure and we all live in a world where media is heavily embedded in society. So in this sense all people can relate to the scenario at hand. The speaker is trying to connect with the reader and act like a spectacular connection has been made. In reality broad terms are being used so the reader interprets the poem as something relatable and connects to it. Thus tricking the reader into actually connecting with the poem. The speaker tries to convince the reader that all people have these thoughts. It works because deep down everyone wants to relate to the story being told. 

The next use of the word “you” is after the person of focus leaves behind the voices which are restricting. In the poem the speaker states “and you felt the old tug at the ankles. / ‘mend my life!’ / each voice cried. / But you didn’t stop. / You knew what you had to do, / though the wind pried / with its stiff fingers / at the very foundations,” (Oliver, 8-16) The first use of the word you in this quote is associated with the feeling of people reaching out for help. The author used this to symbolize how hard it is to leave something behind. Specifically, “the old tug” refers to peer pressure. It is saying how you feel wrong to go against what is expected or wanted from you. This is the connection that the speaker intends to establish with the reader. A bond that says it is okay to go against the flow we have all done it. In the quote there are two lines that are extremely significant, and they are lines eleven and twelve. These lines bring back that idea of determination in the poem. The word “you” is used in correspondence with the clarity that has come from this purge of distractions. The focus of this part is that the person who the reader is connecting to is now free from all negativity and they made the right decision even though it was the hard one. The person finds their inner voice and is able to discover their true self. All people will relate to this because of how broad the speaker is with her events. There are no specific memories going on in the poem, it is just the description of the emotions and inner storm that goes on when a change is being made inside of someone. This inner storm is shown through the personification of the wind and how it is pulling at the foundation. This symbolizes how the reader had to be strong to get through the transition they were making. This was a tough decision to make and everyone has had to make at least one in their lifetime. Once again, a common and broad experience that has the reader believing that the speaker knows their feelings.

The last use of the word “you” in this poem is after the inner turmoil is over. “determined to do / tge only thing you could do - / determined to save / the only life you could save.” (Oliver, 33-36) At this point the person of interest is reflecting on their decision that they made and rationalizing it. They are telling themselves that they did the right thing and made the best possible decision with the situation they are in. All of humankind does this. People rationalize what they do so that they feel good about themselves and are confident. Even if what was done was wrong, rationalization makes what happens okay. In this case the person left behind all of the voices that were crying out for help and did nothing for them. The rationalization was that there was nothing that could be done for them and the only person “you” could save was yourself. This common practice of rationalization in human nature is how the author is able to manipulate the reader. Oliver used this method to make the reader believe that she knows what they have felt and understands struggle.

In Mary Oliver’s The Journey, the use of the word “you” is an incredible ploy that grabs the attention of the reader and makes them interested. In this poem there are many aspects that make it relatable but suck us in not because of this, but rather because we want to challenge the claim of the author that we have been here. The reader will think to him/herself “why is this woman referring to me in this poem, she does not know me or what I have been through.” This works because the author draws you in and then makes a very broad poem about emotions and the reader obviously will find themselves relating to it.