
It is difficult to be an individual with the constant input from peers, family members, and society. Allowing these inputs to dictate one's life, one sacrifices the life that could be made as an individual. It is through repetition, symbols, and imagery that Mary Oliver expresses the difficulties that result from the speaker having to establish her own life out of a world constructed by others in order to capture life as an individual. 

Throughout the poem, the speaker is torn between the life constructed for her by her peers, family members, and society and an individualistic life constructed out of her own decisions and desires in life. She feels restricted by the voices surrounding her. In lines 6-9, "though the whole house / began to tremble /and you felt the old tug / at your ankles" the speaker gets a first glimpse of the hardships she will face by deciding to break free and become an individual. The house symbolizes the speaker's comfort zone, which consists of the input from others. The speaker had been comfortable with the people surrounding her building her life for her, instead of allowing the speaker to make her own decisions and create a life of her own. The "old tug" (8) is the influence of the people surrounding her holds her back from experiencing life as an individual. The concept of the voices holding the speaker back is repeated later on with the use of personification in lines 14-16, "though the wind pried / with its stiff fingers / at the very foundations." The speaker uses repetition to emphasize the strength of the force that impedes individual growth and the difficulty of growing beyond the influence of peers, family members, and society. This prepares the reader for her departure, allowing the reader to better appreciate the speaker’s determination to forge her own path in life; the “tug” of her surroundings reveal the conviction with which the speaker decides to pursue her own path in life and the importance that the author places on individualism. 

The journey towards individuality is never smooth; it is filled with unforeseen obstacles, trials, and tribulations. The road is "full of fallen / branches and stones" (20-21). The speaker uses the images of broken tree limbs to describe the obstacles that come with the journey to individuality.  The speaker continues to reveal the trials, taking note of the peers and family members that ask for help in lines 10-13 "‘Mend my life!’ / each voice cried. / But you didn’t stop." The speaker made a choice to not stop for those who cry for help, because in order to grow as an individual, the speaker must make hard decisions that benefit herself and continue down the path she walks alone.  

The speaker's journey to individuality begins to take a turn in lines 22-23 "But little by little, / as you left their voices behind," revealing that day by day the transition from a life constructed by others to a new life of  individuality is becoming smoother and easier. This excerpt also acknowledges the journey as just that - a journey. The process is not and cannot be accomplished overnight, but the speaker, clinging to her belief in the importance and potential of her own life, relentlessly establishes her right to make her own decisions. In lines 24-25 "the stars began to burn / through the sheets of clouds," the speaker uses the stars to symbolize the light that leads the path towards the end of the journey to individuality. Earlier in the poem, the speaker felt unsure about the decision she made to break free from her constructed life, but the the author uses repetition of the word "determined" (32-33) to reiterate the speaker’s need to grow as an individual and to show that she is determined to grow.  

Throughout the poem the speaker is unsure about leaving behind the voices that helped her get through life. Finally, the only voice that the speaker hears is her own. In lines 26 – 31, "and 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" she realizes her voice is strong enough to be heard. The speaker’s voice helped her make her own decisions and believe in her own advice. She realizes that as she grew throughout her life, her individuality could only come from her voice. This voice is now her pathway to individuality, the source of her decision making, and the force that will allow her to save her own life from being subdued by others and from being subjected to a hollow destiny.
