Life is circled around moments. These moments consist of an infinite amount of emotions such as the joy of seeing your newborn child, the fear of failure, or the sorrow of death. Not every aspect of the heart is physical; every emotion can be felt in depths of the human heart. While hearts may appear in good condition, the abstract elements can cause more pain than any physical scar or tear. The damages of the abstract heart have the power to be repaired, however, the emotional strength of the heart may never fully recover. In Joyas Voladores, Brian Doyle made the connection between the physical and emotional parts of the heart. 

Brian Doyle uses a variety of literary devices in “ Joyas Voladores” in order to convey the importance of the role the heart plays in life to his readers. Not just the heart in a physical sense, but the heart in an emotional and spiritual sense as well. He utilizes word choice, alliteration, and strong imagery in order to draw the reader into his message. Throughout the first and second paragraphs, Doyle explains the hummingbird and its journey from life to death. Once we can understand the significance of the hummingbird’s life, we can make the connection to us as humans. 

Doyle begins his essay by asking his readers to “consider the hummingbird for a long moment” (94). The key word in this sentence is “consider”. Doyle is not asking us as readers to read his essay and move on. He is asking us to consider and digest his words and the meaning behind his words. Immediately upon reading Doyle’s sentence, an image of a small bird with a long thin beak fluttering its wings comes to mind. But, Doyle is asking us to go a step further asking ourselves the question, what is behind that image?

After introducing the hummingbird in the first paragraph, Doyle continues to offer factual evidence about the hummingbird as a creature. Throughout Doyle’s essay the reader gains appreciation for the small bird that once seemed insignificant. In line three of the first paragraph, he compares the size of a hummingbird’s heart to a pencil eraser. This is a visual analogy that lets the reader make a connection. This analogy emphasizes how small the hummingbird’s heart is, but we also learn that they are very reliant on their heart. How amazing is it that a heart the size of a pencil eraser can be so vital to the hummingbird?

The early explorers from the Americas gave the name “Joyas Voladores” to the hummingbirds when they first discovered them. This name means “flying jewels” as Doyle explains in line 5 of the first paragraph. This name describes the hummingbirds perfectly because they are a delicate species with vibrant colors that resembles a precious jewel. Later in the same line he says, “hummingbirds came into the world only in the Americas, nowhere else in the universe”. This line stresses how extraordinary these birds are and how unique their place is to the world. Doyle’s strong command of the vocabulary is evident when using the words “whirring”, “zooming”, and “nectaring” to describe the way the three hundred species of hummingbirds navigate their environment. These words may be uncommon, but Doyle chose his words with great purpose. There are many words that offer the same meaning, but these specific words paint a clear image for the readers and force the readers to consider the hummingbird.

Doyle finishes up his thoughts in the first paragraph with the use of alliteration. He says, “ their hearts hammering faster than we could clearly hear if we pressed our elephantine ears to their infinitesimal chests.” He includes alliteration in order to create rhythm and draw the reader’s attention to the “hammering heart”. He illustrates the hummingbird’s heart as hammering because it personifies the heart and clarifies how hard the heart has to work to keep up with the hummingbird. Doyle goes on further and contrasts the large “elephantine ears” to the “infinitesimal chest” to yet again; emphasize the size of the hummingbird.

In the second paragraph, Doyle informs the reader that the very thing that makes the hummingbird’s feel alive could potentially lead to their death. They are impressive creatures flying around to a thousand different flowers throughout the day. He explains how active the hummingbirds are throughout the day and ends the sentence with, “but when they rest they come close to death” (95). Doyle draws out the next sentence in order to have a climactic effect from the line, “and they cease to be”. To get his point across even further, Doyle adds a lengthy sentence describing sixteen different species of hummingbirds in great detail. He does this so the reader can have a better understanding of how many of these beautiful creatures die each and every day. Doyle reminds the reader that a hummingbird was born to fly, but at rest their hearts slowly come to a halt.

We, as readers, can learn something from this small bird. The heart is just as significant to us as humans as it is to the hummingbird. Doyle did not share this essay in order to describe the hearts of animals. Instead, He wanted to encourage readers that whatever it is that we do in life, we should take a moment to stop and consider the hummingbird. Use what we have learned from the hummingbird and do it with all of our hearts just as the hummingbird does. At the end of the essay he says, “we all churn inside” (96) meaning, we are all the same where it truly counts and experience the same type of pain and joy in life. Doyle’s message is a lesson to us, as readers, that we can carry with us throughout life.
