Chapter 2 Summary

The narrator confirms he has read enough about the era to see Hitler holds the entire German nation captive, from those who detest what he is doing to his most enthusiastic supporters. Ishmael attributes this to Hitler's story - about bursting the bonds holding them back from their rightful place in the world - rather than to terror or charisma. Post-World War I degradation leaves the masses open to propaganda and an intensive education, and those who know they are being fed rank mythology must either join the herd or escape. People in the narrator's culture are in this same situation; they are captives of a story that need not be named or discussed because all know it by heart from childhood. Race, sex, religion, wealth, and nationality are irrelevant. All hear it incessantly. Once Ishmael tells him the story, the narrator will...