In “The Journey” by Mary Oliver, the first thing that begins to reveal deeper meanings is the title. Not only is it attention grabbing for being the title, it is because it starts to show the poem’s themes. The word “Journey” has an adventurous connotation and this tells the reader that the poem will be about some sort of adventure, but at this point, the word doesn’t have much significance. After perusing the text, it is understood that the journey is about the narrator’s battle with life. There will be hard times, and when the perils come, the only thing she can control is herself. The author, Mary Oliver, conveys several themes in the poem such as temptations, struggle, and strength, and uses tone with each theme to further help the reader comprehend them.

The reader can understand Oliver’s temptations when the influences in the story cry out for her to help them instead of helping herself, “Mend my life! / each voice cried”. This line has a lot of power. When the word mend comes to mind, it can imply of a dire situation or a very structured operation. The broken tone of voice in the text shows the narrator to be in a conflict either with herself or with the outside forces, and it is followed by, “but you didn’t stop.” The initial line is a temptation, a temptation that individuals can relate to in their own lives. Everyone has a path, a destiny, and this vulnerable voice tries to lead people astray, but she perseveres, and that takes a lot of willpower. To continue pressing forward when the voices are in her head tempting her mind is extreme discipline. This set of lines make the reader clear of the narrator’s outside temptations, but also allow them to see how she is overcoming it. The wind is a new temptation. It too tries to snare this person, but she endures, she continues. “though the wind pried/ with its stiff fingers/ at the very foundations, / though their melancholy/ was terrible.” The temptation pries with its stiff fingers. Imagine opening a jar of peanut butter. It could be struggle to open the jar because a lack of a solid grip, but with a solid grip the jar will be opened. In these lines I think the same thing is happening. It’s almost useless to try to stop this woman because she has such determination. It even targets her weakness (the foundation) with temptation, but still no success. Absolutely nothing would stop her from continuing on even through the agony. It is almost as if she hit a brick wall, and pushes through the wall, completely leveling it. This is how she overcomes temptations.

Oliver’s theme of struggle is noted in her journey as she tells of her adventures that have been difficult, “…and a wild night, / and the road full of fallen/ branches and stones.” A wild night is what she had been through, but she makes a decision to continue. She had been tried by many forms of sinister plans, but trucked through all of them. The road full of fallen branches and stones tells the reader that life has a struggle. It is not a straight, smooth path, it is filled with bumps in the road, and more times than not there will be bumps in the road. Don’t give up, the light always comes. In the poem, she doesn’t give up, and for the first time she is getting separation from the dark slowly but surely. The darkness is now dying and the light is tangible. The light comes in a beautiful form. The text states “as you left their voices behind, / the stars began to burn/ through the sheets of clouds”. The beautiful form of light is the sun and stars. The magnificent objects glisten, and show us the way through their virtuous light. They are the guide to the fight with corruption. The word “burn” here is very expressive, it isn’t only present, but it is beaming its wisdom on the Earth. The word is used to describe the stars and together they not only convey vivid imagery, but give off warm physical feeling when read. It also lets the reader imagine how much sheer power is given off because of the light cutting straight through the clouds. The stars might be giving off this much light, so it can reach the her because she needs it the most. This is how she deals with her struggle, by having hope for light. This is also important in society today because everyone struggles, life is not perfect. Finally, the writer shows strength when the poem states, “and there was a new voice/ which you slowly/ recognized as your own, / that kept you company”. Throughout all the struggles, the writer persevered and it was worth it because she is finding her true self. She recognizes who she is, and this may come with age and wisdom. She comforts herself through the hard times, and she was the only one that could. The last four lines are the icing on the cake, and Mary Oliver ends the poem in a brilliant way. The reader can interpret the lines to be life lessons. The writer is the one person who is under control of her fate, and no one else, which is seen multiple times in the poem when she continues on with her journey even with distractions.  She put nothing between herself and her destiny, and she arrived. This is the case in life, there is always room for improvement, whether it is in sports, friendships, or families. In terms of sports, practice makes perfect. When working with friends and family, service is key. People control their journey and the final destination. The writer was strong when she was able to continue through her journey, and it shaped her as a person. Mary Oliver conveys several themes in the poem including: temptations, struggle, and strength, and uses tone with each theme to further help the reader comprehend them. After reading “The Journey”, the poem is understood to be about a person. This person has a destiny, a direction through life, and it may be unclear what the end location is. What is known, the writer just walks. She walks, and she doesn’t stop. Throughout her campaign she faces great attraction, attraction to prime evil. The evil presents unbearable pain, but nothing will stop her, she endures. It is “The Journey”. That’s what life's about. The path, it shapes us into who we are today, and we are still here making the best of life because our journey is the same as hers.