I interpret it as like a Jim Jones mass suicide cult leader thing. Narrator's kind of demonic in some ways, "There are more like me where I come from," etc. Definitely a cult going on--self help tapes and homemade clothing? Come on. When he says "go down to the netherworld" it's like a creepy premonition--he asks them to drink the grape juice.
I interpret it as like a Jim Jones mass suicide cult leader thing. Narrator's kind of demonic in some ways, "There are more like me where I come from," etc. Definitely a cult going on--self help tapes and homemade clothing? Come on. When he says "go down to the netherworld" it's like a creepy premonition--he asks them to drink the grape juice.