Mary Oliver’s short poem, “The Journey”, reflects on the hardships of life and inspires hope in her audience. Oliver’s main purpose of the piece was to give a second-person contemplation of her own life thus far, in confidence that it may allow readers to survive life’s challenges with grace. In order to achieve this theme, Oliver developed the word “Voice” throughout the piece. She allowed something that was once perceived as the most negative aspect of the journey to become the greatest strength of the protagonist. Without the growth of this term representing the growth of the speaker, Oliver would not be able to ignite inspiration and courage within her readers. The term “Voice” goes through four major transitions within the piece, slowly progressing from an extremely negative perspective to a hopeful one.

The first occurrence of the word “Voice” in Oliver’s poem is introduced in an imposing way, automatically tainting the word with destructive connotations. Oliver expresses that “…though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice…” the protagonist knew it was simply the first hurdle she had to jump (Oliver, 3-5). The most important aspect of this stanza is to recognize how the word “Voice” is pluralized, adding an increasingly imposing element to an already negative stanza. The entirety of the verse is written in past tense, as if the author is reminding herself of her own journey. All journeys require an obstacle to overcome and, in this instance, Oliver began her story in the midst of her challenges. The word “voices” allows Oliver to fully illustrate the overwhelming fear inflicted on the protagonist; it was not one singular voice “shouting” at her, it was multiple (Oliver, 4). The image of one person shouting is intimidating enough, but adding even more persons allows the reader to infer how small Oliver must have felt. This idea becomes particularly evident when she does not recognize the persons utilizing their voice: she dissociates their actions from them and purely refers to the action. This decision allows the reader to gain sympathy and respect for the protagonist as she seemingly ignores the damage done, and does not inflict any damage of her own. Oliver simply continues on her journey regardless of the trials and tribulations along her path.

The second use of the word describes the sheer desperation of the voices previously described to be “shouting” at Oliver. The tone of “Voice” in the context of “…and you felt the old tug at your ankles. ‘mend my life!’ each voice cried.” Is drastically different from the original imposing nature of its first use (Oliver, 8-11). In this instance the voices are described in a more desperate context, which enhances the inner turmoil of Oliver. The voices are “tug[ing]at [her] ankles” which personifies just how frantic the voices are to tear her down (Oliver, 8). This is vital to the overall theme due to the struggle being explained, which allows the reader to understand how difficult it was for the protagonist to overcome her struggles.

As the poem begins to transition away from the darkness and negativity, the word “voices” is used for the third time in "But little by little, as you left their voices behind..." (Oliver, 22-23). Oliver spent the first two stanzas of her poem personifying her tribulations, and in these lines her tone shifts from one of fear, to one of relief. Her reference to the voices in this line provides a deep contrast between the beginning and end of the journey, which in turn aids the reader in comprehending the length of the journey- In the first stanza Oliver was the one who was made to feel small, but by the last stanza she is the one standing tall as her oppressors shrink away “little by little” (Oliver, 22). The growth Oliver experienced up until this line develops the hope inspired upon her readers.

The last use of the word “voice” is described in a much less daunting way. For the first time the word is paired with optimistic and hopeful descriptions, in "there was a new voice, which you slowly recognized as your own" (Oliver, 26-28). “Voices” no longer symbolize rejection and fear, but instead symbolize her unwavering fortitude. This carries an incredible amount of significance because it was the personification chosen to represent all three stages of her journey. The transformation is extremely evident because of the “voices” placement in this stanza. It also signifies how personal the experience was with the hero, for she had finally learned to listen to herself over what others were telling her.

The poem begins by describing numerous loud voices and then transitions to a slow silencing of those voices. The most beautiful thing about the final use of the word is that it is described as calm, comforting, and empowering instead of loud, oppressive, and hateful. The evolution of the connotations of the word perfectly accompany the theme of growth throughout the poem. With this word being the only constant within the piece, Oliver was able to more vividly express the emotions of her journey. Without the repetition of these words she would not have been able to as effectively conveyed the message of hope she was trying to send.
