In our world today, it’s considered normal for everyone to comply to society’s rules. In “The Journey” by Mary Oliver, she challenges the readers to not think about what others want for them, but what they want for themselves. This poem gives us an interpretation of how everyone should lead a reliable life by listening to their own inner voice. “The Journey” is a simple poem, however one must look deeply into it to find its true meaning. The structure of the poem is written in continuous free verse, with two stanza breaks and internal rhyme. Mary Oliver uses multiple kinds of stylistic literary devices and figurative language to put emphasis on what she is portraying. She also uses rhyme, repetition, assonance, personification, sensory images, and metaphors. The poem’s simple structure, followed by the author’s wisdom to listen to your conscious, can be interpreted by leaving behind the past and coming into something new, such as college. The goal we all look to achieve in our lives is finding oneself even through the infinite problems blocking our path. 

Mary Oliver uses the title “The Journey” for a physical feel of one making his way somewhere, however it is a true metaphor as “The Journey” is the actions one takes to change and find their vocation in a divine way. Even though my family and I have struggles, especially with my parents, it was still difficult leaving them in Chicago to come down here for school. However, after almost completing a whole semester, I have realized that it was time that was needed in the first place. Time can heal many things, and it did its job as my parents and I have a much healthier relationship now. Time can also change people, as it did me, for the better. Living in this new environment was different without my parents because I had to be more independent. I felt as though I always had been, however I realized that I became more independent once I got my priorities straight down here. The change and healing that time caused resulted in an overall happier atmosphere for the both my parents and me. 

This ongoing poem with only a two-stanza break gives us the idea that the concept of our life doesn’t have breaks, for it is constantly moving forward day by day. Mary Oliver shows the readers this with the first stanza stating,

“One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice-

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

’Mend my life!’

each voice cried.

But you didn’t stop.”

The journey never stops but rather is a continuous flow of events. Mary Oliver explains going through tough and easy obstacles well in line 12 saying, “But you didn’t stop”.  She is showing the readers that moving on with their special journey is always key, not staying in the past blocked by a complication. This encourages the reader that stops in life are not permanent but rather obstacles that are made to be overcome and conquered. Personally, I don’t dread on what has happened in the past, because I focus on the what’s going on in the present. I have related back to the past on certain issues, such as my mother having breast cancer. My family and I didn’t know if the cancer was going to go away for sure or not till months after finding out. I would often think back on if my mom was going to have the fight to keep the cancer from returning. After weeks of this, I realized it wasn’t worth to overthink about because that causes stress which could relate to even worse scenarios.

This absence of stanza breaks also makes us, as the readers, roll through this piece more swiftly. This swift reading of the poem can represent how fast time flies and how easy it is to overlook aspects of life because we are traveling through our lifetime quick, despite all the obstacles in our way. The author uses personification in the second stanza by stating,

“You knew what you had to do,though the wind priedwith its stiff fingersat the very foundations – though their melancholywas terrible. It was already lateenough, and a wild night,and the road full of fallenbranches and stones.”

Mary Oliver incorporates tangible effects, “branches and stones” to refer to the situations in the way on our journey. She drew the reader’s attention through her poem for a couple of reasons. For one, the sentences are small, sometimes only encompassing three to four words. And secondly, the sentences are cut off, however they continue onto the next line, making sense after reading its entirety. The author does this to give the readers a feeling of pressure and desperation, symbolizing the hardships of finding oneself. 

Mary Oliver leaves us with the last stanza, and at first after thoroughly reading it I understood the meaning. Through all the struggles we go through, we hope that in the end one realizes to listen to themselves rather than whoever else is trying to influence them. She portrays this using these lines, 

“as you left their voices behind,the stars began to burnthrough the sheets of clouds,and there was a new voice,which you slowlyrecognized as your own,that kept you company”

I feel like Oliver is trying to help the youth with this poem, and especially with these lines by pointing out they don’t need a guide always. That one can find their vocation at any moment with only the help of themselves to lead a fulfilling and strong life. 

Mary Oliver quickly pulls us towards the end of the poem because life changes fast, and could be over before you know it. Some people may not understand what their reason, or goal in life truly is. Some may never find out, however many will, but not until they are close to the end. When a person is about to pass away they may find their true meaning of why they chose to fulfill their life, or why they wished that they interpreted life’s symbols such as love differently to satisfy and find themselves. The readers move through this poem rapidly because we find our reason for “The Journey” in the conclusion. 
