How do you understand history?

“All plots tend to move deathward. This is the nature of plots (26).”

This quote shows Jack’s extreme fear of death. He is talking about the plot to assassinate Hitler and how all plots, even in novels, have momentum to them and then after the climax is reach the characters then die. History is understood through the development of characters, but not until something catastrophic happens. Plots are developed in order to bring people closer to death and until a significant event happens the actually plot will not be evident and history will not be understood.

“For the rest of his life, Hitler could not bear to be anywhere near Christmas decorations because his mother had died near a Christmas tree” (72)

Murray is making a point about the close relationship between Elvis and his mother and relating it to how Hitler too had a very close relationship with his mother. The Christmas tree began to represent a symbol for Hitler and affected the way that he lived his life. Personal experiences are history in the making, but symbols usually aren’t understood until the death of someone. People usually don’t realize the importance of events and the history that is made until it is gone.

“Man’s guilt in history and in the ties of his own blood has been complicated by technology, the daily seeping falsehearted death (22).”

Jack believes that his son’s hair loss is due to toxic foods and the way that they have been raising him. This problem that his son faces can be related to the way that technology has changed the aspects of life. Just as jack unconsciously raised his child a poor way, technology has begun to take over the world without anyone knowing. Technology has eroded away the essentials of life, just like Heinrich’s hairline. In order to understand how history is eroding he relates it too a current problem.