Henry Dobbins Quotes

O’Brien uses this chapter to describe one of his close allies in Henry Dobbins. He talks about how the others would never see Dobbins without his girlfriend’s stockings that he brought from home around his neck. They meant so much to him.These stockings would be with Dobbins even in the most hectic moments. They reminded him of his girlfriend and he felt they were good luck for him. Just the scent made him feel like he was close to her. A lot of soldiers do this so that they have something to connect to. The soldiers rarely talk to family because the family members don’t really know exactly what's going on in the war so it's are for them to connect. O'Brien introduced symbolism of love for Dobbins by how he would do anything because he felt the stockings had power to protect him from anything that would happen on the battlefield. O’brien says “They were like body armour, he thought.” (112) This description shows how Dobbins was superstitious about the power of the stockings. He felt that this was his protection to any obstacle that wants to step in hs way. Another example of the power of love is how he felt they could get him out of any situation. In the chapter it states “...pantyhose over his nose and breathed in deep and let the magic do its work.” (112) This shows that Henry didn't care about how big the …show more content…
Some soldiers held pictures of family members or even bibles to connect to in hard moments. Holding on to the stockings helped Dobbins keep a clear mind. This allowed him to be able to get through even the worst times and keep his sanity. The stockings were his comfort zone. O’brien describes this by stating, “...an infant sleeps with a blanket.” (111) Showing that he felt secure and safe from the war when he was wrapped in the stockings. Dobbins would even sleep with these stockings because he felt that they were a repellent to the pest outside of the