“The Journey” Analysis – Nicholas Gupta
“The Journey” by Mary Oliver is a poem about the journey one takes through life in order to become an individual. From the beginning of the poem the speaker introduces us to the sudden realization that we can listen to our own self-conscious and still excel through life. ”The voices around us” the voices of society, do nothing but “shout their bad advice”. We live in a world where in order to be considered “normal” we must conform to society. The speaker leaves us with the daunting task to find our own voice, in a world where society seems to speak for everyone.
We begin our expedition with a feeling of being lost in an environment so large, but as soon as we understand that our heart, the natural road map we are all instilled with, is the key to our success, that feeling of being lost quickly transitions to the feeling of Transcendental bliss. As we depart on our journey that Mary Oliver invites us to take, it is not to long into it when we hear voices. However these voices are not the ones that we want to hear. “Mend my life! each voice cried”. As with any society, there are always people asking for help. There are always people in need of care, but this journey requires us to continue despite “their melancholy” calls for help.
As we learn to step away from a world where society controls our every move, it is only then that we are able to make the leap into the new world. The world led by our own voice. Nevertheless that jump is not easy because along the way we will be walking along a “road full of branches and stones.” These branches and stones are Oliver’s way of representing the many hardships and problems that we will encounter along the way. “Little by little” one step at a time it will become easier to leave the past behind and continue down the path. The next five lines are what I believe to be the changing point or climax of the poem. “The stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own”. The sudden realization or light bulbs which are represented by the stars started to emerge in our brain and burn through the sheets of clouds that represent the previously uncertain thoughts we may have had about breaking from society. It is at this point that we recognize our own voice, a voice that has actually kept us company and guided us throughout our journey. This is our conscious, the voice of our hearts. This was the voice that saved us.
http://whendeathcomes.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/mary-oliver-poetry-analysis/
