Everyone at different points in their lives go through different struggles. However, there is one common strife that nearly every person will face; Finding themselves. This process is almost never the same between any two people, but it does have the same ending result. Each individuals journey has its own complications and anyone that has been through it has a different story to tell. This particular example of someone’s personal trail to find themselves is written by Mary Oliver, and is a very good demonstration about what this ordeal could look like. The reason this poem demonstrates what someone could expect to come across while undergoing this venture is because of the literary tools that Mary Oliver employs thought this literary work.  This piece uses personification and structure to show the journey one takes when finding themselves to explain that it is a long, complicated process and has both internal and external elements that affect this personal growth. 

With this entire poem written by Mary Oliver, she often uses personification to demonstrate how personal growth can be both an internal and external struggle. Throughout her writing, she uses personification frequently to describe the voices that we deal with, whether they be discouraging or supportive. The voices she describes are often people that we meet along the way on our journey of personal growth, something that everyone goes through at various points in our life.  When Oliver does this, she does in a variety of ways, but most importantly is the way she describes voices that are external and then internal. 

The way Mary describes external voices in this piece is generally in a negative sense. She tells us that there will be obstacles to overcome that are out of our control, and we will have to surpass them like the protagonist did in this poem in order to make it through this journey. One example of Oliver personifying external struggles on this journey is when she writes, “though the voices around you / kept shouting / their bad advice” (Line 3-5). This example distinctly depicts the voices as people around you who do not wish for you to further your journey and reach the end. The voices are described as literal people, however in real life the external obstructions that you could face are not always human. This process of growth could be hindered by many different factors that are independent of you, such as time, distance, or even culture. However, these factors are all external and we know that is not the only type of obstruction that can come between us and success on this journey. 

Another aspect that everyone faces on a journey like one that Mary Oliver describes in “The Journey” are internal voices. When Mary introduces the internal voices in this poem, you almost instantly feel that the journey took a turn for the better, this is because she associates the internal voices with finding yourself. The new voice is introduced directly after the darkest part of the poem, when the journey starts to seem hopeless. This point is truly a turning point because this is the last time you hear about the other voices, instead you only hear about a new voice.  This new voice is a voice that is welcome and the journeyer is willing to take on the world with, which Oliver makes clear when she wrote, “there was a new voice / which you slowly / recognized as your own, / that kept you company / as you strode deeper and deeper into the world” (Lines 27-32). This quote from the poem is the light at the end of the tunnel that the protagonist has been looking for and is trying to reach. Anyone that embarks on this journey is truly searching for themselves in this world full of people. It is known that once you find yourself it is hard to imagine why it took that long or was that complicated, however this is the hindsight bias that the author is trying to show us. It is easy to understand the factors that hinder progress along the journey once it is understood where the end is.

Structure can also hint at the true meaning of a literary piece, and can reveal more of what the author wants readers to understand. In this poem, structure is used to reinforce the idea of the journey that the reader is watching unfold. The entire poem is written in very short lines, that once all put together resembles a path, similar to the one described within the poem. This is similar to the external factors talked about above, where at times the journey may come to sections of this “path” that seem to narrow to get through, however with perseverance it can be done. Another way that structure is used to describe the journey is how Oliver breaks up the sentences. She often leaves short bits of sentences on their own line, for both dramatic effect, but also because when these are read by themselves and out of context still describe a journey. When Oliver writes, “But you didn’t stop.” (Line 12), it is easy to recognize that the person being referred to is overcoming a challenge that otherwise would obstruct their way. Context is barely necessary to come to this conclusion. Both of these examples of structure that Oliver uses when crafting her poem demonstrate that this journey is not easy with the obstacles to overcome and is hardly ever a quick one. 

Thought the entire piece of literature it is easy to pick up that Mary Oliver is trying to describe to her readers that the journey of finding one’s true self is hardly ever an easy process; however, it is a process that is worthwhile. She employs literary tools perfectly in an effort to engage audiences and give her work the credibility that someone undergoing this journey would need to understand that she has been there too. She uses personification to great lengths to not only help describe the obstacles that will be faced, but to also show what the end should look like. To add to this the author adds in clever structure to help shape reader’s opinion on the task the main character faces. This is employed because it changes how the poem is read and perceived. It is because of these devices that Mary Oliver’s poem has a dramatic affect that anyone can identify with and relate to. 
