Tyler Wack

Professor Smith

English 101-029

9 December 2016

The Journey and Joyas Volardores

This paper will discuss the relationship between the two texts, “The Journey” and “Joyas Volardores”. One of the things that they have in common is that they both use figurative language, such as metaphors and analogies, to indirectly get their message across. The authors mask what they are trying to say using the figurative language so that the reader has to interpret the message for themselves. Both of these texts are very similar in that their main point and overarching theme is going through the journey of life. The texts themselves go through their own journeys as well. “The Journey” goes through a metaphorical journey of life with obstacles and an end point. “Joyas Volardores” uses an analogy of the humming birds to compare to a human. It also shows the obstacles and ending of life. The relationship between these two texts is that the authors want the readers to realize that life does not last forever. In order to live the life they want to live, the reader must identify something, such as a goal, to work toward and try to make the most of the life that they have while they can.

The first part of the relationship is identifying something, such as a goal, to work towards in your life. Without having any goals or dreams, there is no purpose in life. This part works hand in hand with making the most of your life by accomplishing something. You have to work towards something to help make the life you want to live. Oliver states that, “One day you finally knew/what you had to do, and began…” (Oliver lines 1-2). What she is saying here is that you discovered what you want to do with your life and now are going to go out and start the journey to get there. You have to find your own path to follow to get to where you want to be. Of course there will always be issues along the way. “Life is lived by most of us with little deliberate thought and awareness. We take problems as they come, solving them one by one, and relating to others in a habitual way. We all experience ups and downs, but our lives generally stay in equilibrium and are manageable” (Hargreaves 1774). You may run into obstacles along your way that try to stop you or slow you down, but you have to push past them and keep going. You can usually relate how to solve a problem to how you solved a similar problem. Oliver mentions, “… as you left their voices behind,/ the star began to burn/ through the sheets of clouds, …” (Oliver lines 24-26). There are the voices of other people that will say you cannot do it. You might even here your own voice saying this is too hard, but you have to keep going. Once you get past all of the distractions, your path and end will become clear. You eventually get to where you are going. When describing the voices, Oliver uses personification and imagery to indirectly display her message. This is similar to how the hummingbirds fly to a thousand flowers a day. They have their own goal that they work toward until they die. I think what “Joyas Volardores” is saying by using the hummingbird is that every creature, even the smallest ones, has something that they work towards accomplishing until they eventually die. Each creature wants to achieve their own purpose before they die. Some live for a short time and some live for a very long time. They have to act on their journey depending on how much time they have left in their life. With age we move closer towards something. Carnes states that, “…and in so doing provide us with ways to conceive of age as a movement “toward something”- a culmination of the “journey of life”- rather than as the final stumble down an inexorable slope of physical decay and senescence” (Carnes 749). People do not want to think about how when they are aging, they are just slowly getting closer to death. Instead, as they age, they want to accomplish new things and go on different journeys. This goes back to the whole idea of having a purpose in life. You need to have a desire to accomplish what you are working toward. Otherwise, the journey is pointless and you will not reach your purpose at the end. “The Journey” says, “…Determined to do/ the only thing you could do-/ determined to save/ the only life you could save” (Oliver lines 33-36). You must be determined to finish the journey so you can do what you set out to do and live the life you want to live. This way you have a purpose and make the most of your life.

The second part to this relationship is making the most of the life that you have while you can. Life does not last forever and the human life is fleeting. A big part of making the most of life is having the memories of the things you did. But memories are hard to make if you do not have something to work towards. Doyle says, “…the memory of your father’s voice in the morning echoing from the kitchen where he is making pancakes for his children” (Doyle 96). There will come a day when you look back on your life and see all the things that made up who you are today. When we die, our memories die with us so we need to make the memories while we can and enjoy life while we have it. Hargreaves states that, “… or at least his/her own special place in the community, a degree of financial security, and an established family life…” (Hargreaves 1772). Everyone wants those special things that they will remember and the things others will remember about them when they are gone. People want a family to pass on their legacy to and be financially secure so they can have a good life. All of these things you have to work for, but help make the most out of life. Doyle also mentions that , “So much held in a heart in a lifetime. So much held in a heart in a day, an hour, a moment. We are utterly open with no one in the end- not mother and father, not wife and husband, not lover, not child, not friend” (Doyle 96). What Doyle is saying here is that we hold all of those special moments and memories from our life in our hearts. But, in the end when we die, we are left with nothing and nobody around us. We are left by ourselves. This goes back to trying to make the most of our lives while we are still alive and can share it with others. But we cannot do this without setting goals to accomplish. People need to take advantage and make the most of their middle aged years. Most people think that in order to make the most of their life, they need to do all of their accomplishments when they are young. But actually, some of the greatest moments of people’s lives happen when they are older. They start a family, start a career, and build finances. All things that will make your life better later on. “Middle age, often referred to as the “prime of life,” is a period well accepted in society” (Hargreaves 1772). When referring to the “prime of life,” it is talking about the time in your life when you start a family or career which can help make the most of your life. She also mentions that the middle age, “It’s a time of tension, at looking back at what was, real or fantasized, at what is, and a time to plan ahead to determine what is meaningful in the lifetime one has left” (Hargreaves 1774). The middle age is a time for reflection for what you have done so far in your life. It is also a time to plan for what you want to do that is meaningful with the time you have left on Earth. This is a really good description for the relationship between working towards a goal and making the most of life. It is a time for reflection of your life and future planning.

The relationship between these two texts, “The Journey” and “Joyas Volardores”, is that the authors want the readers to realize that life does not last forever. In order to live the life they want to live, the reader must identify something, such as a goal, to work toward and try to make the most of the life that they have while they can. To do this, the author use figurative language, such as metaphors and analogies, to indirectly get their message across. Identifying something to work towards is all about finding the right path for you to take and getting past the obstacles to get to your end goal. Making the most of your life while you can is about having a purpose in life because life does not last forever.  There will be a time when everyone passes. It’s the end of the circle of life so we must use our time wisely. Take time to plan for future journeys and be sure to reflect on the past. 

Works Cited

Carnes, Mark C. “The Journal of Interdisciplinary History.” The Journal of InterdisciplinaryHistory, vol. 24, no. 4, 1994, pp. 749–751. www.jstor.org/stable/205669.

Doyle, Brian. “Joyas Volardores.” The Carolina Reader for English 101, edited by Ben Harleyand Nicole Fisk. Hayden-McNeil, LLC, 2016, pp. 94-96.

Hargreaves, Anne G. “Making the Most of the Middle Years.” The American Journal of Nursing,vol. 75, no. 10, 1975, pp. 1772–1794. www.jstor.org/stable/3423564. 

Oliver, Mary. “The Journey.” The Carolina Reader for English 101, edited by Ben Harley and Nicole Fisk. Hayden-McNeil, LLC, 2016, pp. 92.