
Every creature in life has something that keeps them going and the heart keeps pumping no matter what may happen. The heart continues to pump through the happiness, the pain, the sorrow, and the best days ever. Although the heart encounters so much throughout a lifetime, “we all churn inside” (Doyle, 96). Brian Doyle, the author of the essay “Joyas Volardores” says, “So much held in a heart in a day, an hour, a moment” (Doyle, 96). At any moment, life may come crashing down and falling into pieces, but the heart will always continue to pump. Life is precious and must be lived to the fullest no matter what the circumstances may be. In “Joyas Volardores,” Brian Doyle explains how life should not be taken for granted and lived to the fullest through the use of repetition, metaphors, and comparisons. 

In the beginning of “Joyas Volardores,” Brian Doyle uses repetition in order to create an emphasis on how hummingbirds live life too quickly. By living life too quickly, hummingbirds are caused to burn out easily. Doyle begins by saying, “consider the hummingbird for a long moment” (Doyle, 94). This opening sentence begins the explanation of the hummingbird’s heart and lifestyle. The hummingbird’s heart is “hammering faster than we could clearly hear,” (Doyle, 94). This imagery explains how a hummingbird’s heart beats in a way that is unimaginable for humans. Hummingbirds live a much quicker paced life than humans and this is why their hearts beat faster. With the lifestyle that hummingbirds live, their hearts must be able to keep up and never have the chance to slow down and take the world around them in. Doyle says, “The price of their [hummingbirds] ambition is a life closer to death; they suffer more heart attacks and aneurysms and ruptures than any other creature” (Doyle, 95). This fact shows that the hummingbird’s lifestyle is not the best and this causes them to suffer more. Although hummingbirds may have “ferocious metabolisms” and “can fly more than five hundred miles without pausing to rest,” does not mean they live life in the best way (Doyle, 95). Everything about a hummingbird is so fast paced that they do not have time to slow down and take a break. Since they must always keep going, it eventually causes them to “burn out” and “fry the machine” (Doyle, 95). When humans live life too quickly, it is dangerous because it causes one to miss important events and go through the everyday motions. Slowing down allows one to take everything in and not “burn out” (Doyle, 95). Life is more enjoyable when one is able to take their surroundings in and enjoy them, rather than living quickly and suffering. Through repetition, Doyle is able to create an emphasis on how important it is to slow down in order to take a moment to appreciate everything. 

Brian Doyle uses metaphors in order to show how creatures love and live. In the beginning, Doyle uses the hummingbird as a metaphor and says, “They [hummingbirds] can dive at sixty miles per hour. They can fly backwards. They can fly more than five hundred miles without pausing to rest,” (Doyle, 95). This is used to show how fast hummingbirds actually live. Doyle then says, “But when they rest they come close to death…” (Doyle, 95). This metaphor is able to show hummingbirds can live fast, but they can reach death just as quickly. When hummingbirds are struggling, they give up and “retreat into torpor” (Doyle, 95). Altogether, this means that even though hummingbirds are able to live at a fast pace, they cannot always handle this lifestyle. These creatures may seem tough and able to handle anything, but in reality this lifestyle only harms them. They live so quickly that they become fragile and able to reach their death at any moment. This metaphor is able to be applied to humans because it shows how harmful it is to live without ever slowing down. At any moment, someone can reach the lowest point in their life just like the hummingbirds due to not slowing down. A person must be able to slow down and enjoy life in order to be happy and never reach this low point. Living a fast paced life may seem like the best lifestyle, but it is not because it causes one to not have a long life and miss the important things. 

Brian Doyle uses comparisons in order to explain the hearts of different creatures. Doyle describes the heart of the hummingbird by saying, “A hummingbird’s heart is the size of a pencil eraser” (Doyle, 94). He also describes how a hummingbird is always moving at extreme rates and this is harmful. Next, Doyle explains the heart of a blue whale, which has the largest heart in the world, and says, “[The heart] weighs more than seven tons, It’s as big as a room” (Doyle, 95). Even though the blue whale has the largest heart in the world, humans know nearly nothing about this creature. One thing that is known about this creature is that they always travel in pairs. This fact is significant because it shows that the blue whale’s motive in life is their partner. Lastly, Doyle explains the hearts of birds, turtles, fish, worms, and unicellular bacteria. He writes that “mammals and birds have hearts with four chambers” while “reptiles and turtles have hearts with three chambers” (Doyle, 96). He continues to explain how worms have hearts with one chamber and even though unicellular bacteria have no hearts, they still have internal fluid in motion. This is significant because it shows that even though unicellular bacteria do not have a heart, they still have a reason to live. After comparing all of the different types of hearts, one can conclude that in some way they are all the same because “we all churn inside” (Doyle, 96). Each creature has a motive for life and something that keeps them going, moving, and living. 

As Brian Doyle says, “we open windows to each other but we live alone in the house of the heart” (Doyle, 96). A person can choose whether they let others into their thoughts and feelings or shut them out completely. One can “brick up your heart as stout and tight and cold and impregnable as you possibly can and down it comes in an instant” or they can always keep moving and allow others in (Doyle, 96). Living life quickly is not the right lifestyle because it causes stress to the heart. Brian Doyle is able to teach this important concept by showing the importance of slowing down, savoring each moment, relying on others, and remembering that all hearts are equal to one another. No matter the size or shape, the heart continues to pump. 
