W. E. B. Du Bois uses a vivid image to depict the storm and stress of day-to-day life in the modern era. He describes this as the time of "Sturm and Drang," or storm and stress in German.

In the image Du Bois uses, the steady daily life of the modern person is imagined as a "little boat." This boat is afloat on a so-called "world-sea," which represents the universe. However, when storm and stress come about, the waters of the world-sea become disturbed. This means that the boat is rocked. Outside the boat, the sound of conflict can be heard, and the impact of that conflict can be felt. The boat can never make its way out of the sea which surrounds it on all sides, and it will be greatly affected by whatever condition the sea is in.

In using this image, Du Bois makes it very clear that the plight of those of us in the boat is highly dependent on what is going on around us. If we lived in a time of quietude and peace, the waters would be placid and it would not feel difficult to be in a boat. When we are living in a time of storm and stress, however, it becomes incredibly clear that those in the boat are in a dangerous position; and whatever movements are made by those outside the boat, they will be felt at once by those within it.