Why does Dobbins wear the stockings around his neck?

Why does Dobbins wear the stockings around his neck?

By Tim O’Brien Henry Dobbins is a good guy, but unsophisticated. He wears his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck for luck. In Vietnam, people get superstitious, and Dobbins completely believes that the pantyhose give him good luck.

What odd thing does Henry Dobbins wear around his neck as they travel?

Henry Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter. They all carried ghosts. When dark came, they would move out single file across the meadows and Page 5 5 paddies to their ambush coordinates, where they would quietly set up the Claymores and lie down and spend the night waiting.

What do the stockings represent for Dobbins?

The stockings were Dobbins’ good luck charm to protect him from harm or death, and he wore them without fail. O’Brien notes that mostly everyone felt mildly superstitious in Vietnam, clinging to arbitrary things to protect them against something as arbitrary as death. For Dobbins, it was his girlfriend’s stockings.

What does Henry Dobbins carry with him?

Henry Dobbins carries the M60 machine gun, extra ammunition, canned peaches (which he’s very fond of) and his girlfriend’s pantyhose. Between the machine gun, the peaches and the pantyhose, he has everything he needs; tools, comfort food, and magic.

What was the purpose of Henry Dobbins carrying his girlfriend’s pantyhose even after they broke up?

When caught in a fight in the middle of an open field, Dobbins wrapped the pantyhose around his face and made it through the fight unscathed. The pantyhose, he believed, kept him safe, and he continued his eccentric practice even after his girlfriend broke up with him because he said the magic did not go away.

What does Henry Dobbins symbolize?

Dobbins represents the good intentions of middle America. Dobbins focuses this power on, and believes that his faith stems from, a pair of pantyhose that are his personal talisman. He believes himself safe from harm as long as he keeps the pantyhose, and he is.

What is the favorite food of Henry Dobbins?

Character Map: Henry Dobbins Henry Carried extra rations due to his size. His favorite ration meal was peaches in heavy syrup over pound cake. As well as rations, he carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose. He would wrap them around his face or neck as a security blanket or protective talisman.

How does Henry Dobbins react to his girlfriend dumping him?

What does Dobbins do in reaction to his girlfriend dumping him? He continues to wear the panty hose. He commits suicide with the panty hose. He leaves the war to go home.

What kind of person is Henry Dobbins?

Henry Dobbins is a large, strong, dependable, unsophisticated machine gunner. He carries extra rations and wears his girlfriend’s pantyhose tied around his neck. Henry Dobbins was represented as a brave soldier. He was a big man.

Why does O’Brien compare Henry Dobbins to Americans in general?

Tim O’Brien compares Dobbins to America, saying, ‘In many ways he was like America itself, big and strong, full of good intentions, a roll of fat jiggling at his belly, slow of foot but always plodding along, always there when you needed him, a believer in the virtues of simplicity and directness and hard labor.

Why does Dobbins wear stockings around his neck?

The main image in this vignette is the pair of stockings that Dobbins hangs around his neck. Stockings conjure up a number of meanings. First, there is some gender mixing when a man wears a woman’s garment, demonstrating what we might now call a sexual fetish.

How did Henry Dobbins get out of the things they carried?

Another time, Henry Dobbins in The Things They Carried was trapped in a gunfire battle with no cover, but simply slipped the pantyhose over his nose and somehow came out unscathed. Even after his girlfriend broke up with him, Dobbins believed that the pantyhose retained their power.

What was Henry Dobbins like in the Vietnam War?

Dobbins’s profound decency, despite his simplicity, contrasts with his bearish frame. He is a perfect example of the incongruities in Vietnam. Henry Dobbins is a large, strong, dependable, unsophisticated machine gunner. He carries extra rations and wears his girlfriend’s pantyhose tied around his neck.

Who is Dobbins girlfriend in the things they carried?

Dobbins’s girlfriend comes to exist for him in the realm of superstition; she becomes more of an imagined symbol than a real person.