
In “Joyas Voladoras”, Brian Doyle crafts an essay that is a large metaphor comparing animal hearts to human hearts.  Specifically, Doyle uses hummingbirds and whales to highlight how similar the actions of the hearts are. Some of the similarities highlighted are the time a person lives depends on his actions; while he also shows the function a heart plays.  Doyle uses literary techniques such as diction, imagery and syntax to contribute to the larger argument of the text.  Doyle’s essay differs from most in the way it is presented; it actually reads like a prose poem.  Doyle uses unusual diction, intense imagery and uncommon syntax to show that everyone only has a certain amount of time to live and how their time is spent directly affects how long they have on earth.

One of Brian Doyle’s key elements to convincing the reader about the comparison of hummingbirds and humans is his tone and diction.  He talks about spending heart beats as if the animal can control how fast it naturally is, and the language of this helps further his metaphor. When talking about the hummingbirds, he says they have an “immense ferocious metabolism”, which paints a picture and gets the reader to really understand how powerfully he thinks about the hummingbird (95). When Doyle writes, he uses words that are very depictive and precise such as “whirring” and “zooming” when referencing the speed of the hummingbird.  This language is able to let the reader visualize the hummingbird and the speed at which it flies.  Doyle also uses uncommon words. An example of this is when mentions the hummingbird and its heartbeats.  Doyle goes on to explain how we can hear their heartbeats if “we pressed our elephantine ears to their infinitesimal chests” (94). In this scenario his word choice is able to sway the reader into believing his metaphor.  Another technique Doyle uses is the rare use of pronouns when referring to the hummingbirds. He does this in order to reiterate his point make the reader continue to think about hummingbirds.  Doyle is very deliberate in his word choice in order to set the tone for his text.

The imagery used by Doyle proves to be vivid and illustrative.  The passage that stands out the most is the one that lists many different types of hummingbirds and is very descriptive in the process. The passage describes one of the hummingbirds to have a “bearded helmet” (95). This is a great use of imagery because he is able to create a visual for the reader.  He also paints a picture of all of the dead hummingbirds that no longer fly every day.  Doyle also refers to the birds as “Flying Jewels” and is able to bring these birds to life and paint a picture of what they look like in his essay.  In the last paragraph, Doyle transition over to the human heart and describes the work that it does; the heart holds so much information that comes in and out daily.  Doyle uses a metaphor when referring to the heart and he compares it to a window.  He thinks that while we open the two up to each other, we live inside of the heart.  We also live inside of our home but open it up to people.  Our heart functions the same way because we are mainly in our own hearts, but they are opened to others. The greatest metaphor is how hummingbirds are people, the kind of people who never stop moving and always have to work, while slower animals decide to live their life slowly and spend their longer time on this earth peacefully.  The animals with the biggest hearts, whales, travel as groups and enjoy the company of others, humans have similar tendencies.  The humans who figuratively have the biggest hearts like to interact with people while the smaller hearted people tend to keep to themselves and don’t enjoy company. This imagery helps effectively compare the heart of a human to the heart of an animal.

Doyle’s choice of syntax is influential in his larger message. Doyle begins the essay with a scientific tone to make the argument more serious.  He then switches in the middle of his essay to a more informal tone, taking place after the fourth paragraph.  After this Doyle uses terms like “waaaaay” and “mama”.  The change in tone is effective because he puts in more information in the first half, but when this section is over, he tries to make a connection to the reader by addressing them as if he was having a conversation.  Doyle uses mainly complex sentences, although sometimes he is direct and has a shorter simple sentence.  Another stylistic choice Doyle makes is his decision to change his thoughts from animals to humans in the middle of the text.  He goes on to say “You burn out.  You fry the machine.  You melt the engine” (95). Up to this point in the essay, the metaphors had been subtle, but here he chooses to address the audience.  Doyle uses parallel structure to reference all the people that we let in to our heart. By doing so he makes a deeper connection with the reader than if he just listed the people closest to the heart. Doyle ends his essay with a long run on sentence giving examples of situations that can get to your heart, even after you build it up.  He proves that the heart is fragile and love is very powerful, but necessary. The syntax that Doyle uses contributes to the metaphor comparing humans and animals.

In Doyle’s essay he successfully compares the heart of a human to that of a non-human animal; this is done by using unusual diction, intense imagery and uncommon syntax. The diction used by Doyle contributes to the characterization of the essay.  The imagery Doyle uses leaves an intense depiction of what he wants the reader to be imagining.  The syntax used helps make the comparison between the two.  Throughout his text, Doyle shows that humans only have a certain amount of time to live and how this time is spent directly affects how long they have.
