No one is safe from damage. All creatures are susceptible to devastation and pain put on their hearts. The blue whale, the largest animal to ever live, and the hummingbird, one of the smallest animals to ever live, are virtually the same (at least when it comes to vulnerability). Hummingbirds have small hearts, and blue whales have enormous hearts to match their stature. Even though they seem quite opposite of each other, both of their hearts are susceptible to being destroyed; therefore, all living beings are vulnerable. In Joyas Voladores, Brian Doyle uses figurative language, mainly imagery, to illustrate that when it comes to vulnerability, all creatures are the same.

Doyle uses imagery to convey that all living things are internally the same. “No living being is without interior liquid motion. We all churn inside” (Doyle 96). Doyle gives a clear, vivid mental image as to how all creatures are similar. The constant liquid churn that animals have in them is what defines them as living things. Without that interior liquid churn inside of all creatures, then life doesn't exist. We all have the same things happening in our bodies. We are all made of the same elements and the same substances. It doesn't matter whether we are humans, birds, whales, fish, bacteria, etc; we are all vulnerable beings. All living things can be damaged, bruised, and broken. We all have the churning of blood through us that sustains and supports us, and it gives us the chance to experience life. All beings have hearts or heart like things in their bodies that “churn” inside of them. All beings have hearts with chambers and valves that help facilitate the “interior liquid motion” in themselves.

Throughout the different situations that can happen in life, at some point, you will be vulnerable to scars and will probably be emotionally scarred. Human beings sometimes refer to the heart in a metaphorical sense, meaning that it is often considered the container of your soul and your emotions. Sometimes that container will be destroyed and will need to be mended: “…all hearts finally are 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 96). Doyle basically illustrates ti the reader in this statement that your heart will be damaged and broken at some point in your life, and that it is inevitable and unavoidable. That damage can be repaired and your heart can be strengthened, but it will forever be vulnerable and sensitive to harm, and “fragile and rickety forevermore”,  no matter how hard you try, no matter the severity. You can build up a protective wall, but the wall will come crashing down soon enough.

The things in life that do not seem as important are the very things that can make us vulnerable. Since us creatures are very vulnerable, something so miniscule can cause immense damage. “You can brick up your heart as stout . . . as you possibly can and down it comes in an instant, felled by a woman’s second glance, a child’s apple breath, the shatter of glass in the road, the words I have something to tell you . . . “ (Doyle 96). All creatures are vulnerable, despite the amount of protection that is being put around them. Especially when it comes to humans, something as miniscule as a child’s breath or a woman’s glance can cause your heart to become open and susceptible to anything. The wall that was built up as protection from harm can come crashing down instantaneously.

All creatures cannot bear to be alone or in solitude, because it scares us that no other individual is there to protect us or defend us from the harm and the emptiness that we fear. “We open windows to each but we live alone in the house of the heart. Perhaps we must. Perhaps we could not bear to be so naked, for fear of a constantly harrowed heart” (Doyle 96). No one wants to feel exposed, naked, and alone, so we look to other creatures to bond with and protect us from that unwanted feeling of a “constantly harrowed heart.” Being alone leads to feelings of vulnerability, so “we open windows to each,” inviting others into our heart to feel safe. However, doing so can still lead to a higher level of vulnerability because we are opening up to others, therefore, more damage can come from others. No matter what a creature does, they will forever be susceptible and sensitive to harm, whether it be physical or emotional harm.

In Joyas Voladores, Doyle uses imagery throughout the text to illustrate the vulnerability in all living beings; Doyle illustrates that all living things are the same on the inside, that throughout life, there will be times that your heart will have to be repaired, that the smallest of things can lead to the breaking down of the vulnerable wall that all creatures build up, and that all beings look to others for a feeling of safety and security. The heart being damaged throughout life is inevitable. The heart, in any living and breathing creature is the control center of your life, in a physical or metaphorical sense. Regardless of what creature you are or how strong you are, every creature is the same. Therefore, every creature is vulnerable to being broken and scarred.
