Pharmacy By Mary Oliver Essay
One of the most essential parts of a good story, the theme of a text has the important role of illustrating the motifs and messages that the story carries. The short story “Pharmacy” by Elizabeth Strout and the poem “The Journey” by Mary Oliver both posses powerful themes expressing that nobody should feel the need to conform to society and try to make everyone’s life better for the sake of one’s own satisfaction, for there is risk of losing one’s own character by doing so.
In “Pharmacy”, the main character Henry Kitteridge has found himself torn between an unhappy, long-lasting marriage, and an intriguing assistant at the pharmacy where he works. Henry finds himself miserable trying to keep his wife, Olive, and his new co-worker, Denise happy. Eventually, after Denise has moved on and has
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However, when they decided to put themselves first, their worries seemed to be stripped away. The theme is clearly portrayed after the speaker decides they should start ignoring the opinions and demands of others, and starts to focus on their own needs. The speaker says “...there was a new voice which you slowly recognize as your own” (Oliver, L 27-29), thus showing that the voice was previously indistinguishable from the rest of society. However, the speaker later says “as you strode deeper and deeper into the world determined to do the only thing you could do--determined to the the only life you could save” (Oliver L 31-36), showing how they broke free from society and became their own individual person.
In conclusion, every story revolves around a certain theme and without one, it would have no meaning. So, from the evidence given, it is clear that both “Pharmacy” and “The Journey” effectively express the potent theme of individuality and putting oneself first, even though the stories are very
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