“The Journey” by Mary Oliver examines any person’s quest to find their own voice among a sea of negative and opposing voices and influences. This poem is a triumph story of self-savior which connects to anyone reading it. Oliver is able to connect the reader to the poem through her style of forcing the reader to slow down because of the choppy line structure, her ability to pull the reader in through second person narrative, and her use of voices speaking directly to the protagonist throughout the poem.

The first thing the reader realizes when reading this poem, is that this poem has a very irregular rhythm. Oliver chose to write this poem in short, broken apart sentences to mirror the theme and mood of the poem. Sentences are broken up into multiple lines which adds to the theme of life being a rigorous and testing journey. The rhythm on its own creates a mood of annoyance and struggle which directly emulates the subject’s trials which only caused annoyance and disruptions in the subject’s final goal of becoming an independent person. The subject must go through trial after trial after trial, just as the reader must go short line after short line in order to read and fully understand the poem. The subject must endure a “road full of fallen branches and stones.”, which just like the short, choppy lines of the poem, must be overcome by slow and careful strategic movements. Just like a long and tested life journey, the flow of this poem is long, with many lines to replicate the countless tiring obstacles in life. 

An important part of the author being able to make the reader relate and feel involved in the poem is the way she used second person narrative. The author addresses the audience by saying “you” numerous times throughout the entire poem. This direct attention to the reader forces them to feel a personal connection to the story and compare their own journey to the poem’s journey. The author grabs the reader’s attention right away by telling them “One day you knew what you had to do” which makes the reader wonder what it is they have to do and why they are personally involved. That segues the reader’s interest into the remainder of the poem knowing that they are the subject of the story. On a few occasions the story actually includes the subject’s reactions to various events. When voices start crying out towards “you”, you hear them “But you didn’t stop”. By directly addressing the reader in this manner causes them to even further become connected to the story and it makes them think about times in their own lives when events like this have happened to them. This poem actually leaves the subject, or in this case the reader with an objective. The poem ends by saying you are “determined to save the only life you could save.” which leaves the reader with the goal to save their own life, to save it from being walked all over and told what to do and how to act by everyone and everything else, and to find out who they are and what they stand for as an individual instead of carrying the voices and opposing opinions around forever.

Throughout this poem, the reader is tasked with overcoming many obstacles. The main antagonists of this poem are the various voices trying to bring the reader down with them. “Voices around you kept shouting their bad advice”, but the subject always perseveres and overcomes the complications. In life, there always negative influences on individuals. Too often people get entangled in another person’s bad influence causing them to ruin their own lives. Having the voices shouting at the reader give the reader a sense of panic which sets the mood in the beginning of the poem as nervous and confusing. This mood continues as voices cry, “’Mend my life!’”, which just adds to the worry and confusion of the story. Throughout life’s journey, there are always people asking for help and trying to pull you down, but in this case the subject doesn’t stop as they need to continue on their own journey instead of being sucked into another person’s problems and negative influences. All of these voices are used as stepping stones in the subject’s life, guiding them to their individuality. This individuality is only begun to be seen when “you left their voices behind” and started thinking as an independent mind. The author using that phrase of leaving the voices behind creates the bridge from being a corruptible person to the end point of being an independent mind. Finally, the last voice the subject comes across is their own. The voice “kept you company” as you, the reader continues to “save” your own life from the negative influences of society. The author personifies the readers voice, saying it kept them company which again stresses the importance of having an independent voice and opinions to guide one through their life journey.

“The Journey” by Mary Oliver takes the reader through a story in which we can all relate to. The title could have even been expanded to read, “The Journey of Life” because that is the journey in which Oliver takes the reader on in this poem. This poem takes the reader through one’s tried and tested life journey. The author is able to make the reader relate to and understand this journey by her use of a short and choppy rhythm, point of view, and her use of various voices influencing the protagonist.