Throughout the years of human civilization, people have been in a mindset of little to no individuality. Mary Oliver, in her poem, “The Journey,” uses diction and imagery to show that in order to become an individual, one must encounter the obstacles of being lost from the outside voices in the world and suffer the hardships that life brings.   The common individual has been in constant turmoil with the mental aspect of finding oneself and how to accomplish this. 

For an individual to achieve true selfhood, one major obstacle he or she must overcome is the ability to block out the voices from society. Oliver states that the sounds around the individual “kept shouting” (4) at the narrator who began to “tremble” (7) from confusion due to the noise around them. Shortly after this the narrator begins to experience multiple voices screaming “Mend my life!” (10) and has to constantly ignore the aggressive “melancholy” (17) that ensues. The true meaning behind the idea of an individual becoming his or her own is shown with the author having a feeling of confusion with the constant concurrence of a potentially unique person with the outside world. At the moment the person is nowhere near being an individual, so this is explicitly why the narrator is called a potential individual. 

Later in the poem, the narrator continues to exemplify discomfort and constant encounters with humanity yet again when he or she feels a “tug on….” the ankles (8). Along with the tug of the narrator’s ankles he or she begins to feel a “wind pried/ with its stiff fingers” (14-15). Despite the ideas of the narrator being tugged on by his or her ankles and the wind being pried upon them by the outside voices, the most decisive interpretation can be made over how powerful people’s opinions can be on anyone. The examples in lines 14-15 and 8-9 specifically expose how physical voices can affect an individual’s mind. Most characteristics are nurtured into people’s mindset as they mature. For example, if a person is raised on a farm with farmers all their life, they most likely are going to have a country dialect, be somewhat conservative, and have similar interests as other farmers. Instantly, most people would come to believe that it’s fine to be like others because that’s just where and how they were raised, but Mary Oliver opposes that concept. Oliver shows that the outside voices around a person distract and divert a person from finding their true individuality.

By virtue of coming in contact with the surrounding voices, the narrator then has to conquer life’s hardships. The narrator explains how he or she has to handle “the road full of fallen/ branches and stones” (21-22) in order to “strode deeper and deeper/ into the world” (31-32). Along the lines of handling the hardships of others, the narrator then has to bury the fact of knowing that in order to become a true individual, he or she has “to save/ the only life” he or she can, which is oneself (36-37). Again the poem demonstrates the fact of the matter that in order for someone to firmly grasp the idea of individuality, he or she must blow away the stressful hardships and criticism that are presented on an everyday basis. The narrator then begins to use the word determination as a certain precept to follow when feeling in doubt down the road of selfhood. Doubt is accompanied by regret and low self-esteem, two qualities that most people, including Mary Oliver, strive to eliminate throughout their lives. Although the concept of throwing out this mindset may seem easy on paper, the concept of ignoring all feelings influenced by society, is a tough challenge. Mary Oliver wholeheartedly believes that the obstacle of ignoring the hardship is difficult but encourages the audience to accept the challenge. Near the end of the poem, the narrator begins to realize how through all obstacles, he or she was “slowly” recognizing his or her own voice, not anybody else’s (28). Mary Oliver shows through the narrator that the process is a long and tedious one so she can influence the idea of patience and again, determination to accomplish the idea of being oneself. 

Mary Oliver pushes this idea of overcoming the hardships of life to accomplish more.  Granting the idea of another person reading this poem, most people begin to realize that the road to becoming an individual is long and tedious, making them lose interest in even making an attempt. Despite most people giving up, strong individuals ignore the troubles that may come, and are determined to reach the destination. These strong individuals exemplify yet again that through hard work and determination, any goal or mindset can be achieved.  Oliver is presenting to the audience in the end that the trail to individuality may be long, challenging, and gruesome but the outcome is truly promising. As an individual passes through the hardship, “the stars begin to burn/through the sheets of clouds,” meaning that the light is always behind the tunnel (25-26). The path to individuality is truly difficult with obstacles such as ignoring outside society and having the determination to overcome the hardships in life. 

Mary Oliver and her poem “The Journey,” show through symbolism and the use of specific words that the true journey of becoming an individual can only be reached after encountering the troubles of life and the never-ending outside voices of others. The author shows that in life, an individual has to be able to experience anything thrown at him or her at any given moment. One major obstacle of becoming an individual is the ability to navigate through other opinions in the world. Mary Oliver shows the audience the task of becoming an individual may be tedious, but it’s definitely worth it. The idea of individualism in today’s world may seem like an undertaking that many people choose to ignore, but “The Journey” offers a better outlook on how it can be done. 