why is hardship important to the union buries its dead?

An important theme in the story is the stereotypically Australian response to life's challenges. Several times throughout the text, the narrator repeats the sentiment that it "doesn't matter." His approach, therefore, seems to include a dismissal of any difficult emotion. Although the potential for such emotions are raised throughout the text, the narrator continues to dismiss them. The final twist of the story is the capstone to this approach to hardship. The narrator takes an unconcerned approach to the fact that the young man in the story dies alone and unidentified. Although in reality this situation is a tragedy, the narrator seems to suggest in the bush it is simply another day.

Another important aspect of Lawson's characters' approach to hardship is humor. Throughout the text, the narrator and his friends approach dark situations with sardonic banter, making even a funeral seem light-hearted.