The literary device metaphor is powerful in it’s ability to help us view writing in a new way. Author Brian Doyle uses Metaphor in his short article, Joyas Volardores, to successfully analyzes the complexity of the human heart, in relation to the animal kingdom. Each paragraph covers a different creature, contrasting the featured species heart to that of other organisms’ while subsequently exposing the fragility of the organ. The metaphors are straight forward and direct, often a simple listing of facts with little regard to proper grammar. This unorthodox use of the device only further contributes to the efficiency of the piece, allowing the thesis to reach conclusion in a mere few sentences.

The first metaphor begins with the introduction of the hummingbird, or rather its heart. The authors’ unique sentence structure choices become apparent immediately, as he begins to list facts regarding the species, “A hummingbird’s heart beats ten times a second. A hummingbird’s heart is the size of a pencil eraser. A hummingbird’s heart is a lot of the hummingbird. Joyas volardores, flying jewels, the first white explorers in the Americas called them, and the white men had never seen such creatures” (Doyle 1).  As stated, this metaphor compares the hearts’ mass to that of a pencil eraser, emphasizing its’ tiny size. The tiny, fact oriented sentences read off in rapid fire secession, presenting the subject at hand (a humming bird’s heart) in the most efficient way possible. This allows the author to progress through the lengthy setup paragraphs without losing attention, thus accelerating readers toward the main argument. The repetition continues in paragraph number two when Doyle lists a few of the Hummingbirds’ amazing abilities; “Each one visits a thousand flowers a day. 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). Read simply as is, this may appear to be a mere listing of facts. The use of Metaphor however throws a new spin on the writing. While the fact that the small birds can accomplish such feats is truly incredible, the abilities are revealed to be a double edge sword.

 Doyle proceeds by using metaphor yet again to explain how the bird’s “race car hearts” enable the species extraordinary abilities.  The unfortunate down side to this evolution however, is that the organ also leads to the birds eventual demise.  “They have race-car hearts that eat oxygen at an eye-popping rate. Their hearts are built of thinner, leaner fibers than ours… The price of their ambition is a life closer to death; they suffer more heart attacks and aneurysms and ruptures than any other living creature. It’s expensive to fly. You burn out.” (Doyle). The organ originally symbolized by Doyle as an efficient, life driving machine, is reveled by the author to also be the species greatest weakness. This presents an almost sick sense of irony; the organ which grants hummingbirds life by gifting them the talents necessary for survival will also eventually contribute to the frantic creatures’ death. Brian Doyle used this unfortunate metaphor to show readers the price creatures must pay for life in the fast lane. 

The theme of life being fragile also first appears here, when Doyle asks readers to imagine all the birds that didn't wake up this morning. He metaphorically regards their deaths as “a brilliant music stilled” (Doyle). The author then goes on to contrast the hummingbirds’ live fast die young approach  with an entirely opposite lifestyle. He begins, “Every creature on earth has approximately two billion heartbeats to spend in a lifetime. You can spend them slowly, like a tortoise and live to be two hundred years old, or you can spend them fast, like a hummingbird, and live to be two years old” (Doyle).  By including the example of a Turtle, Doyle presents readers with two varying lifestyles that readers can relate to. While some chose to spend their life in a rush, constantly chasing the next goal; others decide to simply enjoy time in a conservative manor, subsequently expanding their lives. This humanizes the previous examples leading readers to question their own usage of the limited time we have been given. Doyle’s use of such direct metaphors allows him to convey this powerful theme in only a few short pages. 

The proceeding paragraph introduces a new creature to the scene, the Blue Whale. The author begins by, yet again, utilizing metaphor to help readers comprehend the enormous size of a whale’s heart. He states, “the biggest heart in the world is inside the blue whale. 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 it, head high, bending only to step through the valves … This house of a heart drives a creature a hundred feet long … It is waaaaay bigger than your car.” (Doyle). The purpose of this repetitive metaphor is set a distinct contrast between the “pencil eraser” heart of a humming bird and that of a giant whale. By comparing the heart to a human room in which a child could walk, the author aids readers in imagining the organs’ extraordinary mass.  Based on the metaphor it would appear that the heart of a blue whale is entirely opposite to that of a hummingbird. This however could not be further from the truth; as it is revealed that both share a detrimental flaw. Doyle explains, "There are perhaps ten thousand blue whales in the world, living in every ocean on earth, and of the largest mammal who ever lived we know nearly nothing. But we know the animals with the largest hearts in the world generally travel in pairs, and their penetrating moaning cries, their piercing yearning tongue, can be heard underwater for miles and miles." (Doyle). Here the author explains that while little is know about the mysterious blue whale, humans are aware that they prefer to travel with a partner, and are capable of releasing agonizing moans which travel miles under the sea. These facts suggest that the blue whales’ giant heart is capable of loving another through companionship. This ability however, causes the creatures to suffer through great emotional pain in pursuit of a partner, as revealed by the “agonizing moans”. The creatures ability to feel emotion toward others, a trait which quite literally maintains the species through reproduction, also causes tremendous suffering. Similar to the humble hummingbird, the blue whales life driving organ sustains the creature, while slowly killing it at the same time. Without Doyle’s use of Metaphor through repetition, this conclusion would have required far more explanation. 

The author concludes his work by explaining the heart of a creature far more complex than even the largest whales, human beings. “We open windows to each other 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). Here Doyle goes back to the metaphor first introduced in the whale segment of the organ serving as a house; explaining how we construct metaphorical walls to protect ourselves from the emotional threat of everyday life. These walls however, will eventually crumble, leaving us humans equally susceptible to the downsides of life shared by our animal kingdom companions.  Doyle references this great flaw which plaques all forms of life by stating, “no living being is without interior liquid motion. We all churn inside.” (Doyle 96). Through these uses of metaphor the author finally brings each creature mentioned together, connecting all through the paradox of the heart; a common flaw of the living. Ultimately, this unraveling leads readers to the original theme, life is very fragile. The audience is reminded that we only have so many heart beats to spend in a lifetime, so no matter how you chose to live them, enjoy every last one. 

Without the author Brian Doyle’s use of repletion and metaphor in Joyas Volardores it would be impossible to convey such a deep theme in only two short pages. His methods are certainly unorthodox, yet deep and open to interpretation, thus leaving readers questioning the direction of their own lives. Truly an extraordinary message which would be left unobtainable to readers without the contribution of metaphor.
