The heart is the powerhouse that keeps most living things living; without a heart certain living thing would fail to exist. Although not every heart is the same shape or size, the basic function of that heart still exist within all creatures. The heart is a commonality that connects all living and breathing things. Within "Joyas Volardores" the reader is able to connect creatures based on the common factor of the heart. Brian Doyle utilizes the heart to show that even though the creatures may be different the heart in a commonality that faces similar feats for all creatures, and makes the reader think about what kind of creature they model their heart after. 

 Hummingbirds are creatures that are always on the go, flying up to 500 miles in a day (Doyle 65). The hummingbird heart beats at an extremely high rate, they are animals that rarely stop to take a break. These birds, however, will succumb to the trials of life eventually leading to their hearts not working any longer. The hummingbird has two options it can either be on the go and move extremely fast which will cause its heart to eventually give out and stop working; or it can move slower where it will eventually die from not going at a normal pace (Doyle 65). Doyle states "It's expensive to fly. You burn out" (Doyle 65). This quote is necessary to understanding the situation, because either these hummingbirds are going to burn out from continuous flying or die from not moving. The hummingbird will have to choose whether to live its life on the edge and risk it all by having its body parts explode or live a safe life that lacks movement where it will die slowly due to that lack of movement. The idea of burning out enables the reader to consider a time when they once felt burned out or tired from a situation. It enables them to emotionally connect with the text and relate it back to their own life. Although humans can not fly they are able to relate to this idea of burning out or being tired from something. "The price of their ambition is a life closer to death; they suffer more heart attacks and aneurysms than any other creature" (Doyle 65). The life of a hummingbird is risky, they are naturally wired to be ambitious creatures, but without knowing the cost of their actions. The quote allows the reader to consider the ambition that they possess and will it cause them life closer to death from the outcomes that will come from wanting that goal.  

The largest heart on earth weighing more than seven tons, is the heart of a blue whale (Doyle 65). Although blue whales are large animals, they are not independent creatures like hummingbirds, they are more reliant on other to survive. Usually blue whales, when spotted travel in pairs (Doyle 66). They need that support to keep going, a constant reminder of their purpose. Unlike a hummingbird, who is independent and able to do the world on it's own, the blue whale needs a partner a companion. The irony of this situation though is that all creatures die alone, you can not die together, because it is that creature's heart that has decided to stop working and succumb to death. The blue whale is necessary to understanding this piece of literature, because it makes the reader think about if they are living a life like that of a blue whale or that of hummingbird. Are they a big creature, who acts the way most would think a small creature acts, because the blue whale constantly needs someone with them, or are they a small creature who does everything on their own and acts the way most would think a big creature acts; like that of a hummingbird. 

 Doyle later evaluates and examines the heart of a human being. He brings light to the things that will make the walls put up by the most rigid and cold person come crashing down. These key points and feelings that the author alludes to like hearing someone say 'I have something to tell you' or the 'apple breath of a baby', makes even the reader recognize the emotions that come from these simple actions (Doyle 66). Most readers know the feeling of having your heart drop or becoming nervous when trying to figure out what may be told to you. This cold and bitter heart that one may have had before will succumb to the feelings and emotional states of trying to find what may be coming next from the person that has something to tell them. This change in emotion from being cold and bitter to being nervous and trying to figure out what may be going on is important, because it shows a shift in the emotional state of a person. This shift proves that even the toughest of people have something that will create a sense of emotional despair and change the tough and rigid mood they may be use to having. Many people who have had children, tell stories of how the first time they were able to see their child take their first breath, they are overcome with this feeling that is hard to put into words. Most parents become protective and want to provide care to this new life other than just themselves. Doyle states "So much is learned in the heart in a lifetime. So much is learned in a heart in a moment" (Doyle 66).  This quote allows the reader to understand, that the heart can change in an instant, the emotions of a situation can lead to a difference in the way one's heart feels. The heart of a person that at one point may have only been worried about themselves will now become tasked with nurturing and caring for the child they will have to raise. "We open windows to each, but we live within the walls of the heart" (Doyle 66.) Within this quote there is a sense of how a heart can change someone, and how the heart ultimately leads a person's life. A person's actions are based off what they might feel from their heart which will cause them to open windows, but even with an open window they are still living inside their heart and basing their actions off the heart they live within. 

Brian Doyle utilizes different animal types to show that although humans are advanced, they are still a type of animal, that has flaws they will have to face like other animals that inhabit the earth. The heart of any creature can only take so much until it succumbs to the setting that surrounds them. It is up to the human on how they decide to live their life metaphorically. The feelings that they possess from within will ultimately be the deciding factor, because humans will choose based on what they feel. Does the human want to burn out quick, but live the fast pace life of a hummingbird; or do they want to live slow and die what some would call the slow death of a whale? Every creature has about two billion heartbeats to utilize before its heart will burn out and eventually stop working, but it is what that creature does with its heart that sets up how others will look back and perceive the time they spent on earth (Doyle 65). The reading was able to use a common feature of many living things, the heart, to exemplify the commonality that most creatures face in succumbing to something in their life span. There are different factors that a creature might face causing them to succumb to their surroundings, but they are decided on based upon the heart. This common feature of the hummingbird, whale, and human being may come in a different shape or size based on the animal, but it ways heavily on the actions of these animals and how they handle certain situations. The commonality creates a since of similarity even though they are physically different creatures. 

