Impediments In Mary Oliver's The Journey

Impediments in Mary Oliver’s “The Journey” Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Journey”, is a narrative of the struggle an individual faces in order to break free of whatever is holding them back. Oliver’s poem represents many different struggles between a person and a different being. It can describe the conflict between someone and an addiction, or between a person and another person or group. Within the poem, Oliver uses tone and imagery to illustrate a feeling of entrapment or something impeding on someone’s progress. In the beginning of the poem, Oliver writes, “the whole house / began to tremble / and you felt the old tug / at your ankles”, representing a force attempting to stop the reader from moving on. The “old tug / at your ankles” can represent many personal things in someone’s life that hold them back from going on with their lives or moving on to something better. For example, a person who has had an addiction to drugs, can figuratively feel like

The reader’s own voice allows them to realize that they do not need to feel trapped or dragged down by the other voices and that “the only thing you could do…to save / the only life you could save”. Oliver’s last two lines show a transformation within the reader as the reader realizes their own needs and self-worth. As the reader continues down the road, they become more free with every step, escaping the prison of the voices. To conclude, Oliver’s poem is a narrative explaining the torment everyone goes through in order to free themselves from the chains of the “voices” dragging them down. Within each stanza, the voices grow dimmer and dimmer until the only voice the reader is able to hear is their own, ultimately freeing them from any impediments. “The Journey” symbolizes the efforts of one to conquer the voices pulling them back and