In an interview conducted by Nick Ripatrazone on his blog about Catholic writers, Brian Doyle spoke about the background leading to his essay, "Joyas Volardores." Doyle initially compiled his essay with "maniacal notes about all sorts and sizes and shapes of hearts" (Ripatrazone). This concept was brought about by Doyle's own experiences when his son was born with a missing chamber in his heart (Ripatrazone). He wanted to write a sort of gratitude towards the cardiologist that treated his son and the cardiologist's wife (Ripatrazone). These ideas came together to create his essay, "Joyas Volardores" (Ripatrazone). "Joyas Volardores" describes universal elements of life through metaphors and the hearts of animals. The animals he compares throughout the story include humming birds, blue whales, tortoises, and even worms. At first glance, these animals are vastly different, but they all share common features of life. These animals experience a wide range of emotions including love, loss, and pain. These are all common factors that humans share as well. Humans and animals share similar objectives of what they want out of life in a message that Doyle conveys. Life is too precious and people need to make the most out of it. He conveys this message through structuring the essay in the best way to express it and subtly symbolizing animals as humans.

Throughout his essay, Doyle symbolizes animals and their hearts as hidden metaphors for humans. The first animal he uses as a symbol is the hummingbird. In fact, the title of his essay, "Joyas Volardores," translates to "flying jewels" in Spanish, in reference to the hummingbirds (Doyle 64). The hummingbird has a tiny, fast-beating heart that allows it to be highly active throughout its life. Doyle informs that "Each one visits a thousand flowers a day" and "They can fly more than five hundred miles without pausing to rest. But when they rest they come close to death" (Doyle 65). This kind of lifestyle can be compared to that of some people who live their lives without a break. Life can instantly take a wrong turn and can have devastating consequences that follow. Doyle explains, "You burn out. You fry the machine. You melt the engine" (Doyle 65). These people experience their lives too quickly and their precious life can go down fast like hummingbirds, "They can dive at sixty miles an hour" (Doyle 65). While the hummingbird's heart rapidly pulses, Doyle transitions to another, much different, animal's heart, the blue whale. 

The next part of Doyle's essay tells about the largest heart in the world that dwells inside the blue whale. Unlike the hummingbird's heart, the blue whale's is much larger and not nearly as active. Thus, its heart does not give out so easily and it is able to live for a long time. Not much is actually known about the blue whale, but Doyle informs that, " we know this: the animals with the largest hearts in the world generally travel in pairs " (Doyle 66). Essentially, the blue whale finds love in its life by living with a partner. This concept can be compared to humans because a human searches for another to share life with. It gives life yet, another purpose and encourages people to pursue their other halves. If people took life slowly, like the blue whales, they will be provided with the time to find the finer things. The blue whale shows a different perspective on how to live life, but still inspires the idea to take life preciously and make something out of it. Progressing from the concepts of life through animals, Doyle constructed his essay to leave a powerful impression by incorporating the human elements of life in his conclusion. 

The way Doyle structured his essay makes his message much more meaningful. He began with the animals and their hearts as symbols for life and how they drew a comparison to humans. To conclude his essay, he introduces the real meaning behind his symbols and the actual human aspect about life. Doyle states "so much held in a heart in a lifetime. So much held in a heart in a day, an hour, a moment" (Doyle 66). Doyle simply states that every moment, every second in life is meaningful. He further implies to take advantages of the moments that life gives you. He compares the human heart to a house that people live in by themselves. Occasionally, these people will invite others to visit their hearts, or "homes." In the end, the visitors leave and the home owner is left alone. He explains that a "constantly harrowed heart" (Doyle 66) keeps us from experiencing life. Doyle further states that hearts become "bruised, and scarred, scored and torn, repaired by time and will, patched by force of character, yet fragile and rickety forevermore, no matter how ferocious the defense and how many bricks you bring to the wall" (Doyle 66). As people grow and love, pain and hardships are faced in return. As a temporary solution, people build walls to prevent the hurt from coming in, but also exclude the good. The only way to really solve this is by taking advantage of what life gives you and realizing it is too short to swallow yourself within it. He concludes his essay with objects in life that most people can relate to "a child's apple breath, the shatter of glass in the road...the memory of your father's voice early in the morning echoing from the kitchen where he is making pancakes for his children" (Doyle 66). These experiences and memories come from those walls being down. They are what make life worth living and assure that it is okay to face tough times. That is all part of the precious cycle of life. Because Doyle addresses these human elements at the conclusion of his essay, it leaves an everlasting impression that life is precious for humans the most and to make the most out of the opportunities life presents.     

"Joyas Volardores" is, itself, a metaphor for how life is played out. Doyle concludes his first paragraph, "Every creature on earth has approximately two billion heartbeats to spend in a lifetime" (Doyle 65). The hummingbird showed that life can be taken away just as quickly as it can be lived. The blue whale showed that there is worth in every moment and it takes time to find the best things in life. The human heart showed that the good things in life must be approached, as well as the bad things that are also sure to come. These perspectives on life are distinct, but they are all viewpoints that communicate the same ideas and objectives about life. Animals and humans, alike, share this. Life is the most valuable thing in this world and it is too precious to let it slip away.

