The painting displays a pair of sailing ships engaged in a fierce combat as they blast cannons at each other . The spiritual turmoil in people 's lives is what the artist is trying to portray through this chaotic painting where there is a huge storm building inside every human being - a storm which puts people in serious dilemmas of choosing between material greed and spiritual austerities . People are so driven into the material world that they have completely lost the wisdom and humility that is largely associated with behaviors in civil societies.