Life is fascinating.  The anatomy of creatures is still not fully understood, but scientists have uncovered many different species and have begun to discover how they operate.  In Joyas Volardores, Brain Doyle illustrates the beauty of life through words.  Doyle forces the reader to imagine themselves as different animals to achieve his message.  In the essay, Doyle uses imagery, repetition, and metaphors to convey his message that life is precious and that we should not waste the life we are given.  

Doyle uses vivid imagery to get across his message that life is precious and should be taken advantage of.  He starts off the essay by going into detail describing the hummingbird.  More specifically, he writes about the heart of hummingbirds.  The hummingbird's heart beats ten times per second, faster than the human ear can clearly hear (Doyle 65).  The bird also visits one thousand flowers per day and can drop at speeds of sixty miles per hour.  These images connect with the reader and instill the idea of life being precious because they show the amazing things an organism such as the hummingbird can accomplish.  Another image in the essay comes in the fourth paragraph.  Doyle states, "The biggest heart in the world is inside the blue whale  A child could walk around in it, head high, bending only to step through the valves" (Doyle 65). This image supports the author's message of life being precious.  The author describes two extremes of the heart, comparing the hummingbird's pencil eraser size heart to the whale's room size heart.  These two images are provided for comparison and can be related to two different ways of living life.  A fast paced life like that of a hummingbird will result in a very busy but shorter life, while a slow paced life like that of blue whale will result in a more relaxed longer life.  Doyle later states in the essay, "No living being is without interior liquid motion.  We all churn inside" (Doyle 66).  This image connects all living creatures.  All people and animals have hearts and churn inside, but we are also very different.  Although the specifics of our anatomy and lifestyles differ, we are all connected because of the fact that we all live and have a heart beat.

Repetition is also used by Doyle to accomplish his message.  The main use of repetition in the essay lays in the second paragraph.  Doyle lists over fifteen different types of hummingbirds and says that some of each kind have passed away in just a day.  This metaphor stresses to the reader to not waste the life we are given.  The writer makes the audience visualize themselves in the eyes of the hummingbird.  The hummingbird's life is short, yet it accomplishes so much.  Through the repetition of the image of a hummingbird, the reader pictures how many different kinds of birds meet their end in just a day.  This image inspires the reader to live their life to the fullest much like the hummingbird.  Another example of repetition comes in the fourth paragraph talking about the blue whale.  Different aspects of the blue whale's behavior are repeated that 55 of whales being mysterious and unknown when he states, "  next to nothing is known of the mating habits, travel patterns, diet, social life, language, social structure, diseases, spirituality, wars, stories, despairs and arts of the blue whale" (Doyle 65).  This could be related to the message because some people live life out of the spotlight much like the blue whale.  These people, while little is known about them, still make an impact on the world.  Doyle later states that whales have the largest hearts in the world.  People who are not as commonly known in the world can still have amazing features and personalities; they are just waiting to be discovered much like the whale.

Metaphor is another technique utilized by Doyle to support his message of life being precious.  On page 65, Doyle writes, "The price of their ambition is a life closer to death; they suffer more heart attacks and aneurysms and ruptures than any other living creature. It's expensive to fly. You burn out.  You fry the machine. You melt the engine."  In this quote, Doyle is referring to the hummingbird's life.  However, this can be related to the life of humans.  If you live a fast-paced life full of high speeds and dangerous adventures, then you will burn out like the hummingbird or like a machine as the metaphor states.  Doyle forces the reader to think about themselves in the eyes of the hummingbird.  The author also states that all living creatures have about two billion heartbeats per lifetime (Doyle 65).  This statement supports the message because the different lives of the animals discussed can be related to different human lifestyles.  A face-paced life like the hummingbird will result in a short life, while a slow and patient life like the tortoise or the blue whale will result in a much longer life.   Another metaphor is used in the last paragraph.  Doyle states, "You can brick up your heart as stout and tight and hard and old and impregnable as you possibly can and down it comes in an instant" (Doyle 66).   Doyle is comparing the human heart with something that can be built strongly and cautiously yet can be torn down easily.  Even the healthiest of people sometimes are victims of tragedy.  For this reason, a person should live their life to the fullest.  It cannot be known when a person's metaphorical heart will be torn down.  Every moment of life is precious.  

Imagery, repetition, and metaphor are all prevalently used by Doyle in "Joyas Volardores" to convey his message that life is precious and should be used wisely.  The main strategy used in the story is a description of animal behavior.  The reader is expected to apply the concepts stated to the human life and to reflect on how they want to live their life.  Through his writing, Doyle forces the reader to imagine themselves as the animals he describes.  When going about life's many events and obstacles, one should consider if they want to be short-lived like the hummingbird, or long-lived like the tortoise or the blue whale.  

