In his speech, Booker T. Washington tells the story of a ship lost at sea for many days, where the crew was about to die of thirst. In the end, they found a small cask of water and barely managed to survive. Washington used this story as a metaphor for the situation of African Americans in the United States at the time. He was arguing that they were in a desperate situation and that they needed to focus on the small opportunities available to them instead of waiting for big ones. He believed that hard work, education, and cooperation were the keys to success for African Americans, and that by doing so, they could improve their lives and the lives of those around them. Therefore, the moral of the story that Booker T. Washington tells the audience is that hard work, education, and cooperation are crucial for success and self-improvement.
