In works of literature, there are many different elements that allows for the larger message to be seen an understood. A work may use many of these elements, or they may use only one. In “The Journey,” written by Mary Oliver in the year 1986, she does a good job in showing how two different elements can intertwine for the reader to gain an understand of the piece. In this piece, Oliver used both positive and negative connotation of words to show how a person was in a bad situation, but they got themselves out of it, arguing the point that the only life you can save it your own. 

When first looking at this work, the opening lines of the work may seem a bit confusing to some. The reason for this is because of the line “You knew what you had to do.” (Oliver 92) This is an odd line to have as the opening to a poem, since it is past tense. The reason for this line to be in past tense is because it has already happened. The author in this line is reflecting on the past and they had already been through. The author “knew” what had to be done, thus showing that person in the poem had already had this experience. As the poem continued, the person in the poem had people “shouting their bad advice,” (Oliver 92) as well as they “felt the old tug.” (Oliver 92) These two lines are filled with words of negative connotation. It is because of this connotation of the words “shouting”, “bad advice” and “tug” that makes these line stick out to a reader. The connotation of these words as well makes the poem sound dreadful and sad. These two points add a lot of meaning to the poem. It shows the hardships that the speaker had to face. By understanding these hard ships, it allows for the reader to gain a better perspective for what the speaker has gone through, thus allowing for a better understanding of how they made it through this journey. 

As the poem continued, the use of negative connotation did as well. In this part of the poem, Oliver continued to use words such as “cried” and “pried” to only deepen the meaning she was trying to get across. This meaning being that of hardship faced by the speaker. When the speaker states “wind pried with its stiff fingers,” (Oliver 92) it once again shows the situation the speaker was in. The “wind pried” can be looked at as the people around the speaker. These people are trying to bring the speaker down with their “stiff fingers.” (Oliver 92) The next line of the poem uses the word “melancholy”. This word may be unfamiliar to some people, but its meaning is a feeling of sadness. The reason behind Oliver choosing this word over others such as “sadness” or “unhappiness,” is the way the word flows well within the poem. Melancholy allows for the reader of the poem to have a deeper feeling of the situation. This is because many people have to think of what this word means. The meaning of the word is not as clear cut as “sadness” or “unhappiness.” With the continuation of negative connotation words the reader is able to understand this hardship in better perspective. It allows for the understanding that by going through these hardships a better time will come. This better time is found in the last few stanzas of the poem. 

Towards the end of the poem, the use of positive connotation can be seen. There is no use of words that bring about sad or dark feelings. Here Oliver began to use words of encouragement, showing that the speaker has found better times. Oliver does this through stanzas such as “there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own.” (Oliver 92) The new voice is the voice of the speaker. A voice that was there all along. The way the speaker was able to find this voice was to face hardship. By facing this, they were able to find out who they truly were. Oliver also states “kept you company.” (Oliver 92) At the beginning of the poem, the speaker felt in a way that they were alone. In fact, they were not because all along they have this voice. This voice that was found by facing the hardship, a voice that was their own. This is the point in which the poem takes a turn. It is no longer a poem of sadness, but a poem of inspiration. The speaker was now able to see the light at the end of tunnel. The true meaning of the poem can be seen in these few short lines. This poem is mostly about a reflection of how the speaker had to face hardships to find out who they truly were. This time in their life was filled with people who were trying to bring them down, but the speaker did not let them. The speaker finally realized that it was only their life they could save. He could try to help others, but if they do not want to change their ways, there is no way to help them. 

“The Journey,” is a poem which teaches a very powerful message that can be learned by both the young and the old. That message is that the only life in this world you can truly save is your own. You can try to help guide people toward the correct path by giving them advice, but that is all you can do. You cannot force anything on anyone. This could cause them to try to bring you down to the same level as they are. You have to let them make their own life decisions and mistakes. Mary Oliver does a good job of showing this in her piece “The Journey.” The reason her message comes along so clear and clean is the way she used both positive and negative connotations of a words. By using negative connotations at the beginning of the poem, she can show the hardships that the speaker is facing. She showed this hardship through the use of words such as “shouting” and “wind pried.” By starting off with this, it allowed for the reader to feel a sense of compassion for the speaker as they faced these hardships. As the poem ended, the use of positive connotations showed how the speaker overcame this problem. With all this, Oliver showed that no matter how hard someone may to try to save someone else, the only true life you can save is your own.
