Joyas Voladoras Essay: Introduction
The “Joyas Voladoras” essay by Brian Doyle speaks of hummingbirds and hearts, the life of whales, and the life of man. That’s a profound reflection on life, death, and the experiences in between. In other words, the essay examines the similarity of every creature on Earth. In this paper, I make an analysis of the piece of literature, describe its main ideas, identify the author’s purpose, and share my impressions about Joyas Voladoras.
When reading the essay, one cannot help but be immersed in the distinct imagery created by the writer. In Joyas Voladoras, Brian Doyle elaborates on the fierceness of life embodied in hummingbirds and creates a sharp image of a small beating heart for the reader, a heart producing billion heartbeats infinitesimally but strongly, faster even than our own.
He elaborates both scientifically and metaphorically. At the same time, he structures this particular piece of prose in such a way that people who read it should not concentrate on the scientific, for that is all that they will see. Instead, they should examine the essay in terms of the metaphoric.
After literary analysis it is clear that “Joyas Voladoras” is filled with metaphorical symbolism. Let’s take as an example the following phrase in one of the paragraphs: “the animals with the largest hearts in the world generally travel in pairs.” While scientific in appearance, it is a metaphor for love in which the essay states that people with love in their hearts are never alone.
Even references made by Doyle to the Hummingbird are another metaphoric symbolism of the abruptness of love and the value which we should place on it. Basing on the various metaphorical symbols seen throughout Joyas Voladoras, one can say that the text symbolizes different kinds of love in the world and the way they are experienced.
The Symbolism of Brian Doyle’s Hummingbird
If one would pose a question of how to interpret the different animals portrayed in “Joyas Voladoras” essay as various aspects of love, then the Doyle’s Hummingbird could be symbolic of the concept of Eros or “erotic love.” This type of love is more commonly associated with the first stages of a relationship wherein love is based on physical traits, intense passion, and sudden affection. The intensity of the Hummingbird’s beating heart is symbolic of the passionate energy of love based on Eros.
The description of a “flying jewel” attributed to the Hummingbird is similar to how the love, based on Eros, is considered to be flashy and noticeable. Identical to a hummingbird love based on Eros alone does not last, it burns brightly just like the life of a hummingbird yet in a short time fizzles out.
Brian Doyle’s “Joyas Voladoras” has the purpose to state that this particular love is the worst kind to have since he symbolizes the people who are addicted to this type of love as experiencing emotional turmoil and heartache, as expressed by the heart of the Hummingbird slowing down when it comes to rest.
The line “if they do not soon find that which is sweet, their hearts grow cold, and they cease to be” is actually symbolic of the way in which people who prefer Eros love are actually addicted to the concept of loving and being loved forever moving from lover to lover, just like a hummingbird moves from flower to flower.
Joyas Voladoras: The symbolism of the Whale
The symbolic nature of the Whale as a type of love for Doyle takes the form of Philos, namely a kind of love which is based on the friendship between two people. While the phrase “the animals with the largest hearts in the world generally travel in pairs” is indicative of Philos love, other aspects of this particular type of love are also apparent.
An analysis of the type of grammar used by Doyle in describing the Hummingbird and the Whale shows that, for the Hummingbird, Doyle uses action gerund words which utilize the word “and” rather than a comma.
The result of such grammatical usage is thus an almost breathless mannerism in which readers read the parts detailing the life of a hummingbird. This is symbolic of the breathless nature of erotic love wherein those who ascribe to it find themselves flitting from action to action without heed or care.
On the other hand, when describing the blue Whale, Doyle utilizes exceedingly long sentences and traditional words interspaced with commas, which have the effect of slowing down the reader. This is intentional on the part of the author since Philo’s type of love is a form of love that begins after a long and prosperous friendship.
It is a type of love that builds up over time, creating strong affection, emotions, and a feeling of longing to be with that person. The nature of the size of whale hearts is symbolic of the intense emotions and love that build up over time, resulting in a type of relationship where two people stay together for a lifetime.
Joyas Voladoras: Summary
What is the main idea of “Joyas Voladoras”? Based on what has been presented in this paper, it can be seen that one aspect of the essay “Joyas Voladoras” by Brian Doyle is that it uses symbolism to express the concepts of Eros and Philos. While the paper possess other forms of symbolism, these particular aspects were chosen since they help to relay the message of the author that there are different types of love out there, each having its unique characteristics.
In summary, it is due to viewing the essay in this particular way that the continuous use of the word “heart” can thus be interpreted as symbolic of people continuously searching for love with the author warning in the ending of the possible pain that comes with this search.
Reference
Doyle, B. (2012, June 12). Joyas Voladoras. The American Scholar. Web.