Diagnostic Essay
The article “Joyas Boladoras” focuses on the nature and beauty of hummingbirds. “Joyas Boladoras” is what the first explores of America named hummingbirds, it means “flying jewels”. The first three paragraphs of this article focus strictly on the hearts of hummingbirds and what they're capable of, how many times it beats in a second, how long they can fly, how many flowers they can visit a day, and what happens when they come close to death.
While reading this article it was obvious that the author Brian Doyle was trying to show something different than the lives of hummingbirds, whales, and other mammals. Doyle was writing about not just hearts and their chambers but what it's like to truly open the heart to show others what's inside. People hold so much in their hearts in a lifetime, and when it comes down to the end of time everyone looks back and realizes that maybe in their hearts they live alone. Maybe people shield their hearts because they can’t bear to expose themselves, to be so naked and open that anyone could destroy them. As they grow and mature they come to realize that the one person they opened up to ended up bruising and tearing apart their heart. They’re forced to glue back the pieces and try to go on with their everyday life even though their heart will never be the same as it was before. One of the most interesting parts of the article is how Doyle makes his article flow. It’s interesting how he starts of talking about the hearts of hummingbirds, whales, and then mammals when in reality the article is about opening up to people and what happens when they do. I believe I would like the article more if I didn't have to wonder what happened to Doyle to make him feel this way. I wish he would have put in his own experience he had that made him realize what happens when someone opens their heart to another person.