While going through all of that frustration the men created a brotherhood to save one another. They watched the birds flying and being calm, that frustrated them the most. The birds are familiar with the ocean, but the “bathtub” boat isn’t. While they saw walls of water around them they got incredibly angry at the universe. The birds are another way of showing the readers that while some people are having trouble throughout life, there is jealousy that gets angry at the ones that are doing well in life. But humans don’t really see someone else’s struggles, only their own.
Crane thinks, only a cruel world would allow them to feel so much hope, only to drown them in the end. He also explained at the end of the story that once a man realizes