In “Joyas Volardores” by Brian Doyle, there are many comparisons of animals to humans. This concept is most likely used for this story in order to expose what it really means to be human. The many prices one person must face in a lifetime, and the consequences that each person must face when exposed, are all main topics of the story. Doyle uses symbolism of the heart in different scenarios with different animals, but the idea still remains the same, we all have our downfall. By viewing these many comparisons throughout the story and by considering Doyle’s style of writing which includes passive voice and simple sentence structure, the reader can see the price each character in the story must pay, and the ultimate consequence for that exposure.

In the story, the hummingbird is described as being able to fly at incredible speeds, without a pause to rest. In the story, he states, “They can dive at sixty miles an hour. They can fly backwards. They can fly more than five hundred miles without pausing to rest” (Doyle 95). Doyle uses this statement to convey the importance of flight to the hummingbird. The author then goes into detail about the small bird’s heart and the many difficulties the bird must face. “They suffer more heart attacks and aneurysms and ruptures than any other living creature”, (Doyle 95). By viewing the hummingbird’s great strength of flight, the reader may feel a sense of freedom and prosper, however the ultimate price of flight is many fatal heart problems. The author used the idea of “price” to describe to the reader that the hummingbird suffers from his own special gift, the reader must then decide how much this gift is worth.

Another animal used in the story is a blue whale and how massive this animal is. Doyle describes in detail the heart of the whale as a house and the many rooms that can be found inside, “It weighs more than seven tons. It’s as big as a room. It is a room, with four chambers. A child could walk around in it, head high, bending only to step through the valves.”, (Doyle 95). Doyle uses this comparison of a house to show the audience the imposing size of the animal. The appearance of a large frame typically coincides with power and greatness. In the beginning of the paragraph, the reader can associate the very colossal whale with power of the sea. However, with every seemingly perfect trait comes a price, “their penetrating moaning cries, their piercing yearning tongue, can be heard underwater for miles and miles.”, (Doyle 96). This sentence gives the audience a sense of loneliness the whale must feel. To be so powerful in a vast ocean, with a moan that can be heard from miles away with no one to comfort the cry of pain.

The last animal found in the story is a human and our capability to love, “So much held in a heart in a lifetime. So much held in a heart in a day, an hour, a moment.”, (Doyle 96). The author expresses our ability to love is endless, that we have a capability to cherish our family, friends, and lovers. However once again we find ourselves paying a price of exposure to people who possess the power to hurt us, “We open windows to each but we live alone in the house of the heart. Perhaps we must. Perhaps we could not bear to be so naked, for fear of a constantly harrowed heart.”, (Doyle 96). As humans, we have this endless capability to cherish, to belong, to love. But our price is being open to criticism, failure, and rejection. How can we bare ourselves to others in fear of loneliness or eventual betrayal? We build walls around ourselves so that we never have people leave our lives because we never give them the opportunity to stay in the first place. 

In the story, Doyle uses a unique style of writing to convey a passive voice to humanity and emotions in general. The simple sentences construct a lack of compassion. He uses this style to convey how simple animals and people are. He also begins the story very scientific and with information that can be found in a text book. This style stands out because the story is about each animal’s weakness, not biology. Doyle uses this style to restate the idea of the hummingbird of just being a simple small animal, however the reader will soon discover how connected animals and people are. In addition to the idea about everything containing a price, the underlying message is that this idea isn’t exclusive to a certain species. As people, there is a sense of higher intelligence to other animals. This concept is rejected in the story, with holding animals and people on the same level. Doyle connects his underlying meaning with the way the reader reads it. He asks us, does our society have a lack of humanity?

In conclusion, Doyle describes an advantageous trait and the ultimate price of that trait. The hummingbird’s flight will be the ultimate cause of heart problems or death, the monumental whale and the cry long forgotten in the depths of the ocean, and finally the human and the fear of love and exposure. All these animals possess different traits and characteristics; however, each faces a downfall within themselves. Doyle uses the hummingbird and whale to compare to a human life. This could be used to express to the reader that human beings may not be so different from animals. We all have downfalls, adventure, and prices to pay.
