Analysis Of Joyas Voladoras

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The latin aphorism, carpe diem, is an accurate depiction that expresses the enjoyment of life. In his phrase, Quintus Horatius Flaccus known as Horace, who is a roman lyric poet, explores the idea of seizing the day, since tomorrow would be too late. The fragility and nuance of life never comes into the picture, since living is an important aspect. In “Joyas Voladoras,” Brian Doyle explores this idea through the metaphor of a hummingbird’s short life expectancy and the idea that the knowledge of this shortage of life makes such creatures seize the day without putting much “trust in tomorrow.”
Hummingbirds are small creatures with hearts “the size of a pencil eraser” that every night are in a constant battle with their heart because “when they rest, they come close to death” (Doyle 1) -- their heartbeat slows down causing multiple “heart attracts and aneurysms” that end their life. “Consider for a moment those hummingbirds who did not open their eyes again today, this very day, in the Americas…each the most amazing thing you have never seen, each thunderous wild heart the size of an infant’s fingernail, each mad heart silent, a brilliant music stilled.” (Doyle 1) Doyle uses the analogy of the hummingbirds’ death to show …show more content…

After battling with the memory of the dam, Didion realized that she was so attracted to the dam’s beauty and peacefulness because of the feeling of “isolation” it brings him. She argues that the dam will be more powerful when it's “free of man” -- in absolute isolation. Perhaps life as well as beauty can be better appreciated when one is alone. Isolating one’s self from others gives the opportunity to have a more productive and active life. One must be able to concentrate one’s self to live life to the

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