In the article “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This,” by
Mandy Len Catron and the essay “Joyas Volardores,” by Brian Doyle the topic of
love is discussed in different ways. The first difference is their authors.
Brian Doyle is 81 years old, is editor of Portland
magazine, and writes children’s novels. This makes sense because the essay’s
theme is explained by extended metaphors using animals. Mandy Len Catron
teaches creative writing in Vancouver, and is currently working on an
independent study The Love Project
where she is analyzing love stories of all kinds. Both writers write for news
outlets, however Doyle has an established position in a magazine whereas
Catron’s experience in news article writing seems to start and stop with
“To Fall in Love…” (But has also done TED talk about her
experience).
The purposes of the writings also differ. Catron’s article
is about her experience with the 36 questions, and while she does reflect on
the experience, the article is more like telling a story. Catron’s article is
informative, and conclusions are drawn by readers. Doyle’s essay is not based
on complete concrete events. The essay reads more like literature, and is not
exactly based on real experiences. Yes, hummingbirds do have small hearts and
fast metabolisms, but those things on their own don’t have anything to do with
love. He draws a metaphor from the structures of hummingbirds and blue whales,
and ends the essay with hypothetical experiences that makes the walls we put
around our heart “come down in an instant”. Doyle cares more about relating to
the reader, by explaining exactly his point about love and using hypotheticals
to make the reader relate to the feeling of love.
“Joyas Volardores” was written in 2004, and “To Fall in Love
With Anyone, Do This” followed eleven years later in 2015. The context of
Catron’s article is more relatable. She writes about being in a bar/restaurant
with a friend, and the article is easily accessible on The New York Times. Setting is important to Catron’s article as she
is examining modern love. Doyle’s article is more universal. The context of him
writing children’s novels and the fact it was published on The American Scholar does not serve the same importance as Catron’s,
because Doyle’s essay was written to be relatable and be understood.
The articles Joyas Voladoras and To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This both have their share of their similarities and differences. To start off talking about their similarities I would say that they are alike in the way that they both talk about the same topic of love. However I believe that they are different in their authors and also their overall purpose for each article.
ReplyDeleteFirst I will talk about the two different authors and how they choose to talk about the topic of love. The author of Joyas Voladoras, Brian Doyle takes the more metaphorically path in his article. The entire writing he talks about different types of animals and how their hearts work with their bodies. He then relates us to the animals in the conclusion of his writing. On the other hand in To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This, Mandy Len Catron takes a more scientific and personal experience side to talk about love. She uses a real life situation that happened to her compared to talking about different animals.
Second I will talk about the difference between the purposes of these two articles. The purpose of these two writings are very different. Brian Doyle’s purpose in his writing is to explain that although everyone’s heart is different , they are all the same in the way it is affected by love. Everyone has been bruised, scarred, or torn by something in their life that they have loved whether it be someone or something they have seen. Everyone’s heart may physically work differently but emotionally they are all the same. On the other hand, Mandy Len Catron talks about the idea that you are able to fall in love with anyone. She uses a personal experience with her and a guy that tried the scientific experience to see if you actually can fall in love with anyone. She believes that love doesn’t find us and that we choose to fall in love.
I agree with you guys both due to how the author writes "Joyas Voladoras." Brian uses the animals with many metaphors and educates us with information about how hummingbirds lifespan and how they have to keep flapping their wings in order to live, but at the same time they die due to their heart rate beating extremely fast. Also he informs us with how many hearts certain animals have. That gives us the understanding of how everyone is different.
ReplyDeleteWhereas to "to fall in love with anyone," talks about falling in love with anybody. Reading these stories there are similarities and differences. Mainly to fall in love informs us about attractions and connecting with one another
While I agree with most of the conclusions that you've come to Karla, I believe you fail to elaborate on the most significant comparison between the two articles - the purpose. Just as you stated, Mandy Catron's “To Fall in Love with Anyone” is predominantly a narrative and Brian Doyle’s “Joyas Voladoras” functions as a metaphor-filled essay, however the purpose of these articles is much deeper than you describe. The common topic between the two authors pieces is love, and each offers a unique dissection into the subject. Catron illustrates an experiment in her journal article which involves two people asking each other progressively deeper and more interpersonal questions in an effort to evoke ‘love’, and simultaneously describes her own thoughts while taking part in it. Throughout the experiment, Mandy Catron expresses the effects of the questions in a structurally scientific way, and later reveals that the two are now married. This contrasts with the dissection that Brian Doyle offers, because the empirical thought processing and analysis that Catron greatly differs from Doyle’s meta-analysis that relies more heavily on the aesthetics of nature, and the emotional value we have for it to create his own perspective. Obviously, Doyle uses a plethora of scientific facts as he describes the biological structure of several animals along with many details about life in general, but does so in a way that doesn’t hinder the illustrative and awe-inspiring nature of his essay. Altogether, the purpose of “To Fall in Love with Anyone” can be seen as more of a modern trial of the mechanics behind emotions and interactions relating to love, while “Joyas Voladoras” offers a poetic yet introspective insight on the mechanics of life, and consequently – love.
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