As children, hearing of a princess kissing a frog was not an abnormal story, but could a human actually have the same emotions and feelings as a frog?  In Brian Doyle’s, Joyas Volardores, he describes the affects the heart has on living creatures.  Human hearts experience many emotions on a day to day basis, as do most living organisms.  Despite physical differences, humans have very similar hearts to animals emotionally.  Having a connection to animals, such as the heart and emotions, creates unity between living beings.  Brian Doyle uses imagery in his examples of the hummingbird’s heart, the blue whale’s heart, and human hearts to illustrate his theme of unity among all living creatures.

In Doyle’s essay, he uses imagery to describe how fast and chaotic the hummingbird’s day is, and goes on to describe the hummingbird’s heart as a huge factor in its daily life.  Doyle writes, “To drive those metabolisms they have race-car hearts that eat oxygen at an eye-popping rate,” in order to provide imagery to guide the reader towards comparison with human hearts (Doyle 95).  In this quote he also uses personification to provoke imagery for the reader.  His imagery on hummingbird’s racing hearts gives the reader an easier outlook into what a hummingbird’s normal day consists of.  The bird’s day is fast-paced and sporadic, as this happens the hummingbird’s heart is racing and filling with emotions and feelings.  As other animals do, hummingbirds decide what they do every day and what means the most to them at all times of the day.  Hummingbirds have choice and feelings in life as do many other living animals.

Doyle goes on to explain the unity of all animals through his imagery of the blue whale’s heart.  He uses many accounts of imagery in this description one being when he writes, “A child could walk around it, head high, bending only to step through the valves,” (Doyle 95).  This use of imagery describes how large the blue whale’s heart is.  This huge heart can hold so many emotions.  Doyle shows this through the line, “But we know this: the animals with the largest hearts in the world generally travel in pairs, and their penetrating moaning cries, their piercing yearning tongue, can be heard underwater for miles and miles,” (Doyle 96).  Such a line shows that the blue whales depend on one-another and care for each other.  Caring for each other brings out that the blue whales do have feelings and emotions along with the hummingbirds.

In comparison with the blue whale and the hummingbird, Doyle brings up a great point that, “We all churn inside,” (Doyle 96).  He writes this to inform the reader that all living animals have emotions and feelings inside.  During the day the hummingbird chooses to keep flying and living a chaotic life in order to not die because it has emotions and values life.  The blue whale travels as a pair and moans across the ocean that it does not want to be lonely which shows how it feels on the inside of its heart.  This is an example of the unity between animals because both, the hummingbird and blue whale, feel similar emotions in their lifetime no matter how big or small their heart.  

Lastly, Doyle provides imagery of a human’s heart to conclude his essay on the unity of all living things.  He brings human hearts into the essay with his line, “the brush of your mother’s papery ancient hand in the thicket of your hair, the memory of your father’s voice early in the morning echoing form the kitchen where he is making pancakes for his children,” (Doyle 96).  This imagery creates a feel for memories and day to day life as a human.  Emotions pour out of humans all day.  The choices people make are often from how we feel that day.  He earlier claims, “So much held in a heart in a lifetime,” which explains the many thoughts and memories humans hold onto in life.  Doyle has a section on how torn human hearts can be.  Such emotions carry humans through their time on earth.  The feelings experienced in life are irreplaceable for people.  

Human hearts experience many of the same emotions and feelings as all other animals.  Doyle explains this when saying, “No living being is without interior liquid motion,” (Doyle 96).  A hummingbird’s heart is extremely small, a blue whale’s heart is extremely large, and a human’s heart is an average size, but through evidence from Doyle, they are united through the emotions felt each day.  A blue whale’s heart is big enough to hold many feelings, and a human heart is much smaller but it can also carry many emotions.  A hummingbird’s heart is tiny, and yet, as a human heart would, with one tug of a string life can be altered by reactions.  The imagery provided gives the reader a better understanding of Doyle’s theme that no matter the size, each living creature has sentiments that arise from the heart.    

Through comparison of the hummingbird’s heart, the blue whale’s heart, and a human’s heart, Doyle uses imagery to convey his message that all living entities have a bond through the heart.  All creatures are united through emotions, feelings, spirits, and life.  He shows that no matter the size each animal has its own way of portraying the same emotion towards the world.  With such comparisons through imagery, Doyle provides the reader with easy to understand examples of how each animal is similar in the heart even if the heart region is different.  There are many contrasts between animals, but no matter the shape or size, each heart provides the mind with the same notions.  
