Preview

Mary Oliver The Journey Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
719 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mary Oliver The Journey Analysis
Stand Up and Speak Up

After reading “The Journey” written by Mary Oliver, I have noted that the author of the poem was suggesting a few different themes and ideas. One of which is that although there will be countless things dragging you down in life, you must stay strong and carry on. From line four to line seven, the author mentioned that bad advice was shouted at you, and the entire house began to tremble. They represent the people who tell you that you will never succeed and the awful things that are dragging you down. In spite of all the negativities in your life, you have to pick yourself up and move on. Another idea that the author wished to express through “The Journey” is that you must speak up and let your voice be heard. Between
…show more content…
Numerous writers have written books and poems to encourage readers to speak up and stand up for themselves, including “The Journey” and “Speak”. They both pass along the message that if you don’t let people know how you feel, what you have gone through, and what you stand for, you are not going to reach anywhere in life. In the novel “Speak”, Melinda never told anyone that she was raped at the party, therefore people in her school misunderstood her action. At the end of the story, She decides to tell her friends about the incident. People now understand her and she was accepted by others as a result of her speaking up. People are not mind readers; they never know what’s going through your head unless you tell them and express yourself. Another valuable lesson that we all can learn from “The Journey” and “Speak” is that no matter how much people doubt you or how much your life is going against you, you must to pick yourself up and carry on. In “Speak”, Melinda dealt with several problems in her life at once, including her grades, her social life, and the terrible memories of what happened at the party. In spite of all the things that are dragging her down in her life, she stayed strong and beared through the school year. When Andy Evans tried to attack Melinda, she fought back by stabbing him with a piece of glass. She earned

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The book ¨Speak¨ by Laurie Halse Anderson was about a girl named Melinda that was raped at a party during the summer by Andy Evans. Speak has many different themes; Adolescence, communication, growth, female empowerment, friendship. But depression was the accurate theme . You see Melinda go through depression and her not speaking up about it.…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Today’s teenagers are often seen as rebellious because they stand up and take action for their beliefs. In Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda remains quiet throughout most of the novel. But she proves to be very courageous when she finally tells Rachel about what at the party and when she goes face to face with Andy Evans.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nothing more than a vesicle searching for belonging. “The Journey” sublimely seizes that moment in a woman’s life where things do not go as planned. The journey is that of an unexpected struggle that impairs your future. Is it fair? No it is not, but it is reality. What we choose to do with this reality is up to us. Mary chose to try to fix her relationship with her son despite how ignorant he has become. The title symbolizes not so much of her past life to now, but what she is trying to make in the present…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    critcal lens essay

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The main character Melinda in the book Speak goes through hard times after she is rapped by senior Andy Evans at a party. The main theme of Speak is isolation. The main theme is isolation because throughout the school year she is torched and isolated from her “friends” by the secret of her rape and that IT (Andy Evans, the rapist) goes to school with her. Melinda relates a lot to the critical lens because this is a hard time where she stands up in time of challenge and controversy. There are…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though Melinda her has shown a light on a topic that many authors would be too afraid to put in a young adult novel and for this and it's amazing but realistic writing the book Speak was a finalist for the National Book Award. Due to its success and powerful message, Speak was re-published with a minor change: in the beginning of the book was a poem, constructed from over a thousand emails from girls and boys like Melinda. This poem is meant to show how many lives Speak has changed and how many people Melinda has inspired to speak…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Old connections will “...tug at your ankles” (Oliver 1) in an attempt to guilt you into staying back, but you shouldn’t feel an obligation to do so. In Mary Oliver's poem, “The Journey”, she speaks of that moment of self realization and taking the first step into a life worth living. The old connections I previously spoke of will make attempts to stop you from pursuing this life, but perseverance and determination will get you far and help you to start living your life.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Upon re-reading A Summer’s Day by Mary Oliver, I continue to reference the posed question “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?” Although my response has shifted a bit, the direction is still linear in relation to my answer almost a semester ago. I wish to pursue a career in alternative investments, whether that be private equity or hedgefunds. As of now I have somewhat decided that I do not wish to immediately pursue a venture capital stance in my career, and would rather explore buyout funds or other investment vehicles. I would preferably be able to look in to the hedgefunds investment vehicles, because this is where the smarted minds, both quantitative and qualitative work, to determine what variable manipulate market…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The journey through life is shown throughout this song tremendously and clearly. Your whole life is a journey to where you’ll end up even if it the end is something unexpected. The journey in this song shows the journey of different people that enter and leave your life to making decisions but one lyric…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes is a well-known piece written during the Harlem Renaissance. In this poem, Hughes uses a mother-figure as a narrator. She is speaking to her son and telling him about her life. She has had a rough life but has persevered to this point and plans on continuing that. She tells her son to never give up and to keep going even when it’s hard. The overall tone of this poem is one of hope and perseverance. When Hughes’ narrator says “Don’t you set down on the steps. ‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard”, she is telling her son that there is hope and that he needs to keep pushing. The theme of this poem is that you should never give up and you have to have perseverance in order to accomplish anything. The speaker shows her son that she’s been able to do it and that if he continues in her footsteps and doesn’t give up then he’ll be able to accomplish things himself as well.…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The mother uses a metaphor to explain that through tails and tribulations she always can bounce back from it and use her hardships to motivate her and inspire her son to continue fighting. The mother’s fortitude even after obstacles displays her resilience. “Its tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up. And places with no carpet on the floors, bare. But all the time I’se been climbing, and reachin landins and corners, and sometimes, doing in the dark where there ain’t been no light.” Another tone that stands out is didactic. Didactic is one of the tones because in the poem the mother looks back in her life and wants her son to know life can be complicated, but she encourages her son to never look back, and don’t give up so easily, because if he does it will be hard. She wants to teach her son to stay positive and to keep climbing. An additional tone is inspirational. Inspiration is one of the tones because more towards the end of the poem, it illustrates an inspirational tone. The mother informs the son not to fall because, she’s “still climbin” If she can continue her rigorous journey after all the years then her son can be encouraged by his mother…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As life goes on, humans will live on. Along with life comes the struggles of dealing with everyday events. These events can evoke emotions that one may not realize were there initially. The way that one deals with emotions varies between people, but on general rule of thumb, most people would rather deal with their emotions alone. Some will go down the more artistic path of expressing emotions, through poetry. Poetry can be used to illustrate a person's emotions without them openly writing about emotions. In Mary Oliver’s poem “The Journey”, she expresses the idea that every human being breaks. Being broken could mean many things, and it’s up to the reader of Oliver’s poem to decide. The poem is written so that the reader is in the point of view, creating an atmosphere in which the reader connects with the poem. Oliver conveys the idea that emotions only control people to a certain point through denotation and personification.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Even if there are many obstacles in life, you need to keep moving further and trying to be better than who you are. It’s like Hughes said, “for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” Overall, I found this poem compelling because it can relate to…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Finding out someone’s worth can be an outcome of a journey. In the poem “The Journey”, which is written by Mary Oliver, describes someone overcoming negative thoughts about themselves. For example, in lines 23-24 it says “But little by little, as you left their voices behind”, which means they are starting to ignore the negativity.…

    • 55 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poem Play Story

    • 821 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Life a Journey is a poem that is written by Noreen Carden. A few lines from her poem goes as follows " Now i'm in my sunset years. I've learned my lessons have no fear. I made mistakes along the way. Each time my conscience made me pay.…

    • 821 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Still I Rise

    • 1699 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “This poem has been an inspiration to people from all different walks of life.” “Still I Rise” is an amazing poem that not only speaks of the troubles of slavery and Maya's struggles in life but I think this poem is also a victory call a banner of hope and encouragement to all those that have faced trails and tribulations in their lives. “Still I Rise” has many different meanings to many different people but one common message stands tall and that is no matter what struggle you face in life you have the ability to rise above it. Maya's poem reflects a lot on human nature and the inner strength we all have to fight back against whatever life throws at us”(elite skills). A majority of the people who have read “Still I Rise” seem to all come to the same conclusion as to what Maya Angelou’s point is that she is trying to make to her readers. She tells her readers that they need to have courage to stand up and not let other people push you around or break your spirit based off their judgments and criticism they may express openly.…

    • 1699 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays