In Brian Doyle’s “Joyas Volardores,” Doyle shares with us that life varies in different ways and all life itself is fragile. He talks about the hummingbird and how they live; they live a fast paced life, but for a short period of two years on average. This is because every creature has roughly two billion heartbeats. Doyle then tells us about the blue whale, and how it is so big yet we know nothing about its life after puberty. He mentions that the blue whales heart is so big that a child could walk around in it as if it were a room, since it is the size of one. He finishes talking about how important hearts are to all animals, yet you can physically protect it the best you can and it is still able to shut down in an instant. This text is engaging and interesting because of the many different ideas and writing elements Doyle shares with us. The main idea of “Joyas Volardores,” is that all life is precious. Also that, Life comes in different ways and all of them are in different shapes and sizes.

Throughout the text, it feels like Doyle is talking directly to the reader; this makes the writing feel more sincere and honest as if you are having an actual conversation with him. He consistently uses the pronoun “you,” and this makes the reader think more while reading. It makes the reader think of themselves being directly involved in the text. Using “you,” conveys a lot more meaning than saying humans or saying something even more generic. “You” is the most relatable pronoun to the reader, and the more relatable the bigger impact of the message Doyle is trying to convey. Specifically, in the third paragraph, he talks about how every creature has a limited amount of heartbeats; he says, “you can spend them slowly, like a tortoise […] or you can spend them fast, like a hummingbird.” (Doyle 3) This quote shows that Doyle wants the reader to think about themselves compared to animals, and how animals are just as alive as humans are. 

Doyle’s biggest focus in the entire text is based the idea of all living beings having hearts and needing hearts. Without a heart, any animal would not be alive, yet you can protect it all you want and it can still fail on you. The point he makes at the end of the final paragraph is the strongest, “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” (Doyle 6) This vulnerability is common among all animals, and it something that all animals have to live with. This shows the point all life is equal, and humans have the same burden of heart problems that all animals share.

Doyle uses the first half of the text to talk about hummingbirds and blue whales, two polar opposites. He uses these two extreme variations of life to express that all life has a heart and all hearts have an expiration. Just because they are completely different than humans they are just as alive as we are. He uses most of the text to talk about hummingbirds. He starts by telling about all the amazing things they do. Doyle talks about their hearts and how they live this fast paced life, but they soon run out of heartbeats and are given short-lived life. He says,” It’s expensive to fly. You burn out. You fry the machine.” (Doyle 3) The blue whales have the biggest hearts out of any animal, yet we know nearly nothing about their habits in nature. The reason Doyle talks about to completely opposite animals is because he wants the reader to see the biggest heart compared to one of the smallest hearts. With the connection made between the two animals’ hearts, the reader can see that all the animals in between follow suit. They all have the same hearts and beats, and all animals run out of beats.

Another element he uses to express that all life is just as precious humans, is in the paragraph where he talks about how all life has liquid in motion inside, where he says, “we all churn inside.” (Doyle 5) This quote best conveys the message he is trying to express. The message is that all life is equal. He breaks down each tier of life, from mammals and birds to insects and even cells saying that all have liquid moving, and all of our insides, the internal organs that keep us living, are all the same and all making us churn. This proves we are just as alive as any other living being.

In many paragraphs of “Joyas Volardores,” Doyle finishes the paragraph with a very long and descriptive list of various examples. This is very useful in his text; he uses this to show how significant what he is talking about really is. For example, he talks about how hummingbirds die and about their short lived lives. He says, “Consider for a moment those hummingbirds who did not open their eyes again today.” (Doyle 2) To show how substantial the consequences of the hummingbird’s short lifespan are, he spends half of a paragraph listing all the different extinct species of hummingbird. Later in the text, he talks about how fragile the heart is. He explains that the heart can shut whenever and can be caused to shut down after the most miniscule thing. He lists all the different examples of things you can hear, see or feel. He ends the text with this list of examples.

In Brian Doyle’s Joyas Volardores, He expresses that all life is equal. He does this by talking about the hearts of every being, and all beings’ hearts give out eventually. He uses many elements to express these ideas. His honest and sincere writing and descriptive and meaningful lists contribute to the message he is conveying. He says “we all churn inside,” and that all of us are just as alive as any animal is. “Joyus Volardores,” means “flying jewels.” Jewels are valuable, and Hummingbirds that are being called the “flying jewels,” are an example of life. Like jewels life is valuable.