
The heart is one of the most important organs in the body, it has power over our thoughts and actions. It is known that the heart is a strong tool; we feel with it, take action because of it, trust what it has to say. In Joyas Volardores by Brian Doyle, he goes into to detail about different animals and their hearts. He talks about the hummingbird and how the cost of its fast paced life style is a shorter life. He talks about how each creature has approximately two billion heart beats to spend and how some animals use them. He talks about the mysteries of the Blue whale, about how they reach adulthood, then disappear from human ken. Doyle talks about how each and every creature has some form of heart. Everything he talks about revolves around the heart. And though it is not clearly stated, Doyle suggests that we are governed by our hearts.

Doyle talks about blue whales, the creatures with the biggest hearts. We know that they weigh more than seven tons. We know how their young grow and develop. We know the size of their heart. But once a whale hits puberty, we know practically nothing else. “…and of the largest animal who ever lived we know nearly nothing.” (Doyle 95). It seems as if the creatures with the largest hearts are the most mysterious. As the heart grows, it becomes more complex, its needs change and growth. Once it has reached maturity, the heart no longer acts predictably or in plain sight. We were able to observe baby whales, but once they reach adult hood, they disappear. Once their hearts mature they become more complex and we are unable to understand its actions any longer. What and why become more prominent questions when talking about their actions. Doyle talks about how we are unaware of the whales’ “mating habits, travel patterns, diet, social life, social structure, spirituality” (Doyle 95). Their hearts have grown past the size of ours, and with it, their hearts govern their species differently. The heart is so complex that even though we share the same organ, we cannot seem to understand how it works in another species. As their hearts grow, so does the heart’s influence over the whale. Doyle says that “…the animals with the largest hearts in the world generally travel in pairs…” (Doyle 96). Because these creatures have the largest hearts, they are more driven by feelings. These feelings are what keep them together, for fear of loneliness or to feel loved. The heart strives for the satisfaction of these feelings, and it’s will be strong enough to impose its desire over creatures even as big as whales.

Doyle talks about something every creature has in common, a heart, and how no matter the shape or size every heart functions the same. Like how “Mammals and birds have hearts with four chambers. Reptiles and turtles have hearts with three chambers. Fish have hearts with two chambers. Insects and mollusks have hearts with one chamber.” (Doyle 96). Each type of creature has a different sized and structured heart, yet they all work the same. Each hearts do it job, keeps their host moving, and drives them. No matter the size, the heart still governs the being, acting on feeling. The heart is such a complex organ, it fits into every creature and adapts to the job that needs to be done. Doyle backs this up by stating “No living being is without interior liquid motion. We all churn inside.” (96). One thing that all being have in common is a heart. It is what drives every creature on Earth, something they cannot live without. Without a heart they can no longer function, they die. With no purpose they can no longer move forward. The heart is always working, giving direction, always churning. Doyle points out that the humming bird Lives its active and fast paced life, but when it stops to rest, it is at its most vulnerable. This is when “their heart sludge nearly to a halt, barely beating, and if they are not soon warmed… their heart grows cold, and they cease to be.” (Doyle 95). What kills the humming bird is its heart, once it stops it ceases to be, no longer driven to move forward. Once the heart is lost is when the creature is lost. Doyle puts the heart stopping as the last phrase before “they cease to be” because of the important role the heart plays. As the heart grows cold, so does its host, both freezing in place. The heart can no longer give direction and so the body shuts down. Everything has a heart that drives them, no matter the size.

Doyle suggests that the heart is a strong force, difficult to oppose. It dictates what we do, and does it willfully and powerfully, and because of this the heart almost always has its way. He states, “You can brick up your heart as stout and tight and hard and cold and impregnable as you possibly can and down it comes in an instant.”  (95). Doyle writes, “and down it comes in an instant” to show how easily the hearts will prevail over the hosts. Doyle also uses words like stout, tight, hard, cold, and impregnable to emphasize the fact that no matter how hard you try, you cannot stop the heart from driving you. Its influence is far too powerful to just ignore; it is always guiding you. This is one reason why when the heart stops so do you, your body doesn’t know how to run without the hearts guidance. Additionally, we fear for our hearts safety. Doyle suggests this by saying, “Perhaps we could not bear to be so naked, for fear of a constantly harrowed heart.” (96). We are aware of our hearts purpose and its importance, so we are afraid to let it hurt or feel pain. We fear the emotional pain, symbolized by “Perhaps we could not bear to be so naked” how we are afraid of being alone or isolated. We fear the physical pain, symbolized by “fear of a constantly harrowed heart.” How we are afraid of any pain afflicted on the heart. The heart governs our action, so we in turn protect it both physically and emotionally. 

The heart is a tool used to run our bodies, a tool fit for the host it governs. Each creature is different, and so is their heart. It must be able to fit with each creature’s size and life style. Humming birds are a prime example with their miniscule body size and fast paced life style, their hearts are uniquely fit for their life style. “Their hearts are built of thinner, leaner fiber than ours. Their arteries are stiffer and more taut. They have more mitochondria in their heart muscles- anything to gulp more oxygen.” (Doyle 95). If the heart could not adapt, it would not be fit to govern anything. It has the ability to adapt into what is needed. For the humming bird it changed into a smaller, faster working organ to be able to govern it. This version would not work for any other creature; it is unique to this bird. The heart is flexible, able to fit in any creature, it has the power to be the tool needed to run anything. For the blue whale, their heart “is a room, with four chambers. A child could walk around in it, head high, bending only to step through the valves.” (Doyle 95). The heart that governs the whale needs to be scaled appropriately, so it is the size of a room. Comparing it to a baby and a room helps describe the heart as a governing body. It being able to control the whale, like a pilot in a cockpit. 

The heart is a very powerful, flexible, and persuasive tool shared by every living being on earth. From blue whales to humming birds, the heart works to help its host navigate the world around them. We base our actions off emotions we receive from our heart. We fear for the emotional and physical wellbeing of our heart. We depend on our heart to guide us. The heart is a necessary part of every being, something we cannot live without, it influences every action we take.
