Figurative Journey Definition

Novelist and poet, Rainer Maria Rilke once said, “The only journey is the one within”(Rainer Maria Rilke Quotes). Meaning, what makes a journey important is how one changes and learns from the experience. The claims made in this quote are well proven in relatively new literature and even one of the oldest poems still studied today. The Odyssey is a famous, well known epic poem. It was written by the renowned poet, Homer, in ancient greek times. The Odyssey follows a man known as Odysseus, he just left fighting in the Trojan war after years. Odysseus has quite the adventure due to the gods’ and goddesses’ constant manipulation, all in the hope of reaching his homeland, Ithaca, and beloved family. Quite the opposite, much younger and shorter “The Journey” is a poem written by Mary Oliver in the 1900s. This poem relays what a journey really is and the purpose of going on journeys. Despite the differences between The Odyssey and “The Journey”, the two both use figurative language to convey a very similar message. People embark on journeys to fill an empty void and learn what they appreciate in life.

A physical journey brings inner growth and development from the experiences a person encounters from a physical transition from one place to another. All physical journeys include obstacles and hardships however they also involve emotional and spiritual journeys along the way. Peter Skrzynecki’s poems “Postcard” and “Crossing The Red Sea” are both examples of an emotional journey within a physical journey. A feature article ‘A Desert Odyssey’ reported by Sue Williams and Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ also involve emotional journeys within a physical journey.

The concept of journeys can vary from person to person; literally a journey is a progression, either physically, mentally or spiritually. Journeys come under five main titles, inner, spiritual, imaginative, emotional and physical. Practically all texts contain one or a combination of these journeys. Les Murray, an Australian poet, has a very strong concept of journeys throughout his poems. Through the use of such techniques as figurative language and film a composer can express their individual concept of journeys.

At one point Drake said, “Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination”. Most of the times your experience helps you learn a valuable lesson, which would utilize throughout your entire life. In The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus goes to a trip, where he learns that he needs to rescue his throne and wife, Penelope. Also, when the Cyclops had captured Odysseus and his members, Odysseus made the correct choice and saved everyone. In The Cruelest Journey, the main character or the author, Kira Salk, go to Niger River, where she uses her own knowledge to terminate obstacles and learn the following task. In The Journey, by Mary Oliver, the character learns that she needs to leave all the negativity back and start a new journey. As a result, for every character or real people to set up on a journey they need the mental state because mental state is like a boss that helps connect with the concept, which can help them learn new lessons.

The definition of a journey is: “A traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time.” (dictionary.com). However, most modern novels have characters that go through emotional or mental journeys that serve as the main plot for their story, thus contradicting the meaning of the word “journey”. In older works of literature such as The Odyssey by Homer and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, it is more common for the protagonists to step into physical journeys that are often made to signify an important lesson or meaning by the end of the novel. Factors such as symbols, themes, and character change plays a role in helping the characters along on their adventures and adds to the connotation of the whole story.

Journeys can include those that are physical, mental or inner and are often accompanied by challenges that can change the individual mostly for the better. Journeys are taken for many reasons, some are taken from choice and others are compulsory. A journey can be lone or be accompanied. The outcomes of journeys may shape the individual as a person.

Journey is the pathway to growing up. It is the feeling when you look up in the car after being on the road for a few hours and discover you are back home, the place you’ve been longing to get back to all week. It’s the realization that this time next year you will be halfway done with highschool. It’s all of those feelings wrapped up in one.

All heroes around the world go through a journey of their own. Those journeys can be a physical, , mental, emotional journey, and lots more. These types of personal journeys are demonstrated in an epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, an interview, The Hero’s adventure by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, a short poem, Courage by Anne Sexton, a graphic novel, The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds. They all show how journeys can be transformative and show a person’s strengths and/or weaknesses.

Poems can be interpreted in many ways; however, every reader has their preference. One interpretation of “The Journey” is that it is a story about battling depression. The

“The benefits of the accomplished journey cannot be weighed in terms of perfect moments, but in terms of how this journey affects and changes our character.” -Ella Maillart. To many, journey’s are life changing experiences. People venture out into the world to learn and discover new things. In the epic, The Odyssey by Homer, is about a hero named Odysseus that goes on a 20 year journey. For ten years he was in the Trojan War and the ten after that we was trying to get back home. He got into lots of obstacles trying to get home. The character Odysseus in The Odyssey changes by having a desire to gain glory but in the end of the story he is more humble. Another story that shows change throughout a story is “The Cruelest Journey” by Kira Salak. This story about a girl going on a 600 mile kayak journey on the Niger River. People told her it was impossible to do the whole 600 miles and especially for a girl to do it, but she proved them wrong. In the beginning of the of the story she was very strong minded about the trip but at the towards the end of the story she starts to notice how everything that’s around her changes everyday.

Physical journeys can impact upon the traveler in many ways. They can be faced with obstacles which can impact on the traveler and will need to overcome. Physical journeys can impact upon the traveler in various ways. This is shown in Dawes poem “last seen at 12.10am” where a mother is on a journey to find her missing daughter. This is also evident in Michael James Rowland 2007 film “Lucky Miles”, where a group of men’s inner journey of friendship despite differences goes through obstacles which they overcome. Another impact upon a traveler is also shown in Bruce Dawe poem “Drifters” which a frustrated mother’s journey of disappointment, which has impacted her when suddenly faced with picking up her belongings and being, forced to move. A

The character in “The Journey” faces doubt and disbelief from the people in her life while she fights to leave. This particularly takes place at the beginning of her voyage after she finally realizes that she must go. “The whole house began to tremble”(Oliver,5). Emotion is given to the house through personification which depicts how the narrator is feeling. She is being held back and frightened to go off alone in fear of abandoning the voices that ask for her help. “You felt the old tug at your ankles. Mend my life! Each voice cried.”(Oliver,9) By giving up her original goals which put others needs before her own and held her back, she can now get in touch with herself. During her journey, “there was a new voice, which was slowly recognized as [her] own”(Oliver,27). By going off on her own and forgetting the distractions and doubts of her past the narrator was able to get in touch with herself and learned who she is as a person. The character’s journey begins with her overcoming the doubt that she receives but she can finally be released of those pressures and discover herself when she leaves behind the voices to find her

Hi, teacher and fellow classmates. Today I will be talking about how a journey can have positive and negative impact on an individual. Journeys are not just limited to the process of physically travelling as an emotional journey can be seen in self-exploration and imaginative journeys can occur to transport an individual from reality into an unreal world. Michael Gow’s play script of Away, relates to the challenges, goals and discoveries which are achieved by the characters Tom, Coral and Gwen as they endure physical, emotional and imaginative journeys, whilst the film To Kill a Mockingbird, directed by Robert Mulligan in 1962 utilises the innocence of childhood to convey three personal journeys as demonstrated through characterisation and

Small or big, everything we do in life is part of our journey. Reg Harris’ “The Hero’s Journey” describes the voyage one takes throughout life to grow and change as a person. He breaks the journey down into eight steps leading to the return. It starts out as a goal that isn’t always easy to reach, one goes through hardship and personal doubts only to succeed and become a better person. An example of this journey can be found in the movie, Troy through the character Achilles. Achilles is a strong fearless warrior in the movie, Troy who goes through “The Hero’s Journey” and ends up with a change of heart.

In journey of this life we are exploring many events and experiences which are most important to us. This experiences we gain it could be lesson for some of us, it could be mistake we made or it could be most memorable experience ever gained. Here are some of the experience that I gained in my life winning geography award, transition from middle school to high school and moving to Canada.