Have you ever considered the size of a hummingbird’s heart? Or what about the heart of a whale? Some may not value or see the purpose of the size of the heart or the reason a heart beats so many times per minute, but in Brian Doyle’s “Joyas Volardores” we see that he considers every heart important and something of value. By reviewing the imagery and repetition of his work, we are able understand the overall truth in “Joyas Volardores”, meaning the heart is more than what keeps something alive. 

“A hummingbird’s heart is the size of a pencil eraser” (Doyle), this description is used to help us have a better understanding of just how small the hummingbird’s heart is. Although the size of the heart is brought to our attention, this is not what he wants the reader’s focus to be.  As you continue to read, it is obvious that the bigger message that he is trying to get across is that it is not the size of a heart, but more so what it entails.  I believe that he really wanted us to focus on all of the feelings, emotions, and memories inside that small heart. Later in the text he sparks our interest with another fact for us to think about by mentioning, “The biggest heart in the world is inside the blue whale. It’s as big as a room, with four chambers.” (Doyle)  The heart tells us more about a person or thing more than anything else. The heart not only shows who you are but what you’ve been through, it is what makes each person unique because everybody has their own story within it. Doyle also says that the heart contains habits, travel patterns, diet, social life, language, diseases, and stories. Those are just a few examples of what made each animal so unique. I believe that the heart gives everything personality as well, “Each one visits a thousand flowers a day. They can dive at sixty miles an hour. They can fly backwards.” (Doyle) each of these statements give the hummingbird character. By visiting a thousand flowers a day that shows ambition and the drive they have to live. When they dive at sixty miles an hour it shows their incredible ability and that they have no fear. Then when they fly backwards that gives them an incredible talent that no other animal has. The true meaning of the heart goes so much deeper than just keeping the hummingbird that passes by our window alive. 

Throughout the text, Doyle uses repetition to grab the reader’s attention and make them focus on a specific point. For example, the use of the word chambers in the fourth paragraph is making us recognize their importance. Each chamber has a specific job and animals have a different number of chambers. “Mammals and birds have hearts with four chambers. Reptiles and turtles have hearts with three chambers.” (Doyle) and there are other animals with two, one and even eleven chambers in a heart. He also uses the word they a lot throughout this work. The repetition is this somewhat meaningless word allows us to create a sense of connection.  When you think of the word they, you think of someone grouping people or objects together. By using the word “they”, he is connecting all animals and humans together as one and making the reader realize how they are all one in the same. Also, another technique Doyle uses is the way he writes the word “way”, instead of spelling it the correctly, he spelled it “waaaaay”. The extra “a’s” grab a reader’s attention and make them question why he would spell it that way. This clever writing technique is what keeps the reader interested and wanting to read more. 

What is a metaphor? That’s an easy answer and most would say “it is a comparison without using the words like or as”. But is that really all it is? I believe that a metaphor can go much deeper than a small comparison. Doyle’s whole work is a metaphor, it’s an analysis and explanation on the life humans live and how we love.  A major metaphor Doyle uses is the comparison of each animal to each other. One animal is small, the next is huge, one is fast, one is slow but he compares them to each other to make the main focus on how each of them live. His use of metaphors also creates a sense of connection between the animals.

From the smallest heart to the largest, all hearts contain more than just blood that pumps through them. Each is special, each has a story, each has a past, present, and future. Doyle conveys this message throughout “Joyas Volardores” by using several techniques. This work stops and make you think and find the deeper meaning within yourself, your life and what you love. 
