Topic > Analysis of Joyas Voladoras by Brian Doyle

Doyle's essay uses science and vivid descriptions to describe how powerful yet fragile the organ is. The author's aim was to demonstrate that among all animals they have one common characteristic; the heart. To convey this message, compare the heart of the hummingbird to the heart of a whale, which, regardless of size, is still very powerful. “Joyas Voladoras” is the name given to the hummingbird by the first explorers of the Americas and means “flying jewels”. He goes on to explain that a hummingbird's heart beats so fast that they encounter aneurysms or heart failure more than any other creature. The beating of their hearts symbolizes that they live very short lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay “So many things held in the heart in a lifetime. So much held in the heart in one day, one hour, one moment”. Everyone has things they hold, whether it is emotions, secrets or information and knowledge. Following this quote, Brian mentions how people are “completely open with no one,” meaning we don't really share things with other people, we keep them inside is determined by what he is discussing at the time .At the beginning there are hummingbirds so the writing is short and choppy. Next Doyle mentions the whales which are large, so Doyle writes that this part of the essay is long and slow compared to the beginning every animal has a heart but it can hold a lot of it, regardless of size. In his essay he writes: “Every creature on earth has about two billion heartbeats to spend in a lifetime two hundred years, or you can spend it quickly, like a hummingbird, and live up to two years” In contradiction, Doyle explains that a blue whale has the largest heart in the world. Their hearts weigh seven tons and they are known to be the largest mammal to have ever lived as a society, without knowing almost anything about them. Doyle has a lot of tones in the beginning. He begins with a scientific tone almost as if he were writing a report on hummingbirds and whales. However, his tone changes when he explains why he talks about different hearts. Looking at the different textual tones, there were many negative connotations in this text because the author felt disappointed by the carelessness with which people took their lives. Doyle absolutely wanted to show everyone that there is more to life and that people should live it. Regardless, there were some positive connotations in this text, the part about the blue whales and how they had bigger hearts because they were together and helped each other. Please note: this is just an example. Get a customized document from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The author has a thoughtful tone in which he tries to tell us how to live life and feel your emotions. Continuing, in Doyle's article on “Joyas Voladoras,” he wanted society to know that people are all hummingbirds of life. Either choose to live life fast and enjoy it, or live like a turtle and miss out on all the good things life has to offer, not that, but enjoy every one of those two billion heartbeats. In conclusion, “Joyas Voladoras” by Brian Doyle encourages people to treasure every moment of life; from sad ones to happy moments. Doyle speaks of each moment of life as “a thing held in the heart throughout life. So much contained in one heart in one day, one hour, one moment”, and as mentioned before Doyle's view of life and love is demonstrated by the use of animal hearts as a metaphor. Works., 39(2), 117-123.