In “The Journey”, Mary Oliver goes through many struggles in society in order to find her inner voice.  Although, finding her inner voice is important, there is a deeper message she is trying to introduce to the reader.  Mary Oliver’s various word choice, shifting text, tone, and point of view builds on the extreme depression she faces.  She must overcome depression to find happiness in life.

Mary Oliver shows extreme depression by using vivid, forceful words throughout the poem.  Depression begins to set in on the reader when she says, “the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice-” (Oliver 92).  The word shouting is used to describe the various voices in society trying to conform her.  The leads to the beginning stages of her depression.  Various words in the text such as tremble, tug, pried, and burn add to the emotional weight being put on her shoulders, as she proceeds through her journey.  The forceful words exemplify the demand she felt from others, and the words act as nuisances that Oliver must overcome.  The nuisances are mentally discomforting to Oliver as they build on her severe state of depression.  Mary Oliver refers to “the road full of fallen branches and stones” in order to covey how the useless people in society cannot help with her journey but only add negative emotions (92).  When Mary Oliver experiences these negative people in her life she sees that she has a much better mindset.  The fallen branches and stones exemplify the various obstacles that are confronted.  They also exemplify the paths that can be taken to avoid negativity.  Although the words are forceful, Mary Oliver makes sure to use words that cannot hold her back physically or permanently.  The words tug and pry are used in the text to show how society can try to hold her back, but the obstacles are not stronger than the inner voice she can find to overcome depression.  Depression must be overcome in various ways.

In order to show how depression is overcome, Mary Oliver begins to shift the context of the poem.  She shifts the poem from depressing to hopeful by using words that look similar but have opposite meanings.  There is a repetition of the word “though” over the course of the poem, until the word suddenly turns to “through”.  Mary Oliver shows how the word “though” refers to her past.  In her past, she wants to take into consideration what others in society say but she knows she must move on.  She transitions “though” to “through” to express that she has moved on from the negative voices that made her depressed in life.  She has now found the light at the end of the tunnel.  Throughout the text, the literal meaning of the word voice stays the same.  Other words in the text changes the voice from being the negative voices of society to the positive, inner voice of the author. The discovery of her inner voice brings her happiness and relief.  These various voices allow the author to express to the reader that there are changes, struggles, and learning experiences in life to overcome depression.  Mary Oliver is using these transitions in order to express that taking your own route when others try to hold you back can lead to happiness.  Mary Oliver hears many people that try to conform her to the “regular” ways of life but she sees how following those ways will lead to failure.  When she sees other people fail at life she becomes happy that she took her own way and was able to overcome depression.  She finds her path in life as the best way.  

Mary Oliver’s use of tone and second person point of view allows the reader to feel depression that the outside society imposed on her.  The tone transitions from sad and depressing to hopeful.  The tone strongly resembles the learning experience that Mary Oliver went through.  While reading the text, the reader will feel alone in a society full of negative people that only bring them down.  The point of view takes the reader on the journey to overcoming depression and finding happiness.  Mary Oliver wants the reader to feel alone just like she did when she experienced the long journey.  The use of second person adds to the message that depression can be overcome.  Using the word “you” in the text correlates with the struggle she went through by blocking out others and overcoming a task on her own.

Mary Oliver used many different aspects to portray the overcoming of depression to become happy.  The forceful word choice allowed the second person point of view to add to the imagery of the text.  There was a much stronger representation of Mary Oliver’s extreme depression when these aspects were used.  The shifting of words in the text allowed the reader to join the journey of overcoming depression which correlated with the second person point of view in order to make it most effective.  The tone also correlated with the changed from depression to happiness by using more positive words at the end of the text, instead of using harsh words.   All of these aspects shined through the text in order to distinguish the transition from depression to happiness.    
