Do you think that Henry Dobbins truly believed in the magic of the stockings? Or do you think he just claimed to because he didnt have much else to believe in?
I think that he really believed in the magic of the stockings. It brought back old memories from home and also he felt "secure and peaceful"(111). This link shows the many goodluck charms other soldiers bring with them and why. Most say for memories from home just like the soldiers in the book. It also gives them something to work for. http://www.stltoday.com/gallery/news/special-reports/afghanistan/afghan-soldiers-and-their-good-luck-charms/collection_fa11926d-acbd-5e6b-9b7e-b2d705b68f31.html#2
I think he did believe in the magic of the stockings. After all, O'Brien does say that the soldiers had all grown very superstitious while over in Vietnam, and that every time he wore them he seemed to be invincible. If I were in his shoes, I would start to think there was something special about them too; I mean, he got off without even a scratch, without even a bruise. And he still wore them after the breakup, so I think he did really believe in them.
He needed something to believe in, he needed the comfort of a normal life that he had with his girlfriend. Even after they broke up, the comfort of normal is what made him keep the stockings.
superstitions can give people faith that can keep them alive and can give them an idea of what to expect http://www.helium.com/items/1608541-belief-in-superstitions-influence-life
Very interesting! Superstition seemed to be an alternative coping system to rationality. Superstition and luck became a -- I don't know how to put it -- a religion maybe. I liked the word "talisman" on page 111. Definition: an object thought to have magical powers and to bring good luck. Everybody wants to believe in luck. For example, I always used to have a lucky leotard when I was in gymnastics, silly, I know but it was the belief that mattered, not the object.
I'm not so sure he "believed" in the stockings so much as he just wasn't willing to take the risk of not wearing them. I imagine that he originally wore them just for the emotional comfort, but when miracles started happening, he wasn't really superstitious, but he had no reason to stop wearing them, so he continued.
I think he truly believed in the magic. He brought them with him where ever he went and they seem to be keeping him safe so far. The soldiers were putting their life's on the line every day and were under a huge level of stress and anxiety. They needed little superstitions like these to keep them going.
This goes with what Jeffrey said, but I think he wore them just for his own mindset. He was probably too scared to not wear them because he knew so well what it was like to wear them. It might have been the fear of the unknown that made him wear them.
I think he just wanted something to believe in. When there's something to take your mind off of things, it's easy to keep it as your "back up". Especially if it reminds him of home.
To me, at first, it seemed extremely odd that he would bring this item as a good luck charm. But after reading this chapter the idea of it becomes more of a symbol for hope. That hope kept him going whether he believed in magic or not. As long as he had hope he was good.
I think Dobbins wanted so badly sometthing to believe in. Here he was stuck in a horrific war so the simplest things such as stockings seemed to make all his pain go away. I think he truely did belive in the magic because he had convinced himself of it.
I don't think he necessarily believed they were magic but I do think that they became routine and that made him more comfortable which could seem like magic at sometimes.
Well I think at the beginning of 'Song Tra Bong' the woman was also a comforter, but in a different sense. They all loved her because she could relate to them after actually being in the Nam, and that was comforting to them. I think that was the whole reason Mary Anne was brought there in the first place, was so that Fossie would be content knowing she was with him.
I don't think Mary Anne was a good luck charm for Fossie; she was just his companion. However, Dobbins's girl was a good luck charm, a fantasy for him. Not much else. I guess once you're away from someone for so long, you maybe start to forget that they're more than just a memory, more than a pair of stockings. And maybe the separation is what brought the breakup upon Dobbins and his girlfriend.
I thought that the stocking themselves offered so much comfort for Dobbins because even after his girl friend left him he kept them hanging around his neck. She was the girl that brought the ideas of home. Mary Anne ended up having the opposite effect for Fosse because she changed so much. She broke his heart and offered nothing but a necklace of human tongues.
In this chapter, Henry Dobbins took comfort in knowing that his girlfriend was safe at home waiting for him, while in Sweatheart of the Song Tra Bong Mark Fossie was impatient and wanted his girlfriend with him no matter what. In the end, the girls both left their boyfriends. I think that this shows that the role that the women play for the men depends on the person and their situation.
Henry Dobbin's good luck charm was a pair of stockings from his girlfriend. If you were in the position of a soldier, would you bring a good luck charm? And if so, what?
I think I would more of just a piece of mind if anything, maybe not for the superstitious part of it. I would bring something small that is easy to carry and doesn't take up much space. Also something that has some significance to my life. Like for me, I would bring something like a small smooth stone, maybe a birthstone from either my birthday or a significant other. http://www.remembertheafl.com/images/Birthstones.jpg
I probably would bring a good luck charm! I'm not exactly sure what, because I don't think my lucky pencil would suffice. But I think having one would help me believe things would turn out alright, like a little boost of the false hope that soldiers need sometimes.
They still worked because the luck came if he believed it came from the stockings. He didn't know any other way so he kept believing in his stockings. It was all he had left between himself and chaos.
O'Brian describe Henry Dobbins as a man 'like america itself, big and strong, full of good intentions, a roll of fat jiggling at his belly, slow foot but always podding along, always there when you needed him, a believer in the virtues of simplicity and directness and hard labor" (111). Do you agree that this description of him makes him like America?
Do you think that Henry Dobbins truly believed in the magic of the stockings? Or do you think he just claimed to because he didnt have much else to believe in?
ReplyDeleteI think that he really believed in the magic of the stockings. It brought back old memories from home and also he felt "secure and peaceful"(111). This link shows the many goodluck charms other soldiers bring with them and why. Most say for memories from home just like the soldiers in the book. It also gives them something to work for.
Deletehttp://www.stltoday.com/gallery/news/special-reports/afghanistan/afghan-soldiers-and-their-good-luck-charms/collection_fa11926d-acbd-5e6b-9b7e-b2d705b68f31.html#2
(Beil)
DeleteI think he did believe in the magic of the stockings. After all, O'Brien does say that the soldiers had all grown very superstitious while over in Vietnam, and that every time he wore them he seemed to be invincible. If I were in his shoes, I would start to think there was something special about them too; I mean, he got off without even a scratch, without even a bruise. And he still wore them after the breakup, so I think he did really believe in them.
He needed something to believe in, he needed the comfort of a normal life that he had with his girlfriend. Even after they broke up, the comfort of normal is what made him keep the stockings.
Deletesuperstitions can give people faith that can keep them alive and can give them an idea of what to expect
Deletehttp://www.helium.com/items/1608541-belief-in-superstitions-influence-life
Very interesting! Superstition seemed to be an alternative coping system to rationality. Superstition and luck became a -- I don't know how to put it -- a religion maybe. I liked the word "talisman" on page 111. Definition: an object thought to have magical powers and to bring good luck. Everybody wants to believe in luck. For example, I always used to have a lucky leotard when I was in gymnastics, silly, I know but it was the belief that mattered, not the object.
DeleteI'm not so sure he "believed" in the stockings so much as he just wasn't willing to take the risk of not wearing them. I imagine that he originally wore them just for the emotional comfort, but when miracles started happening, he wasn't really superstitious, but he had no reason to stop wearing them, so he continued.
DeleteI think he truly believed in the magic. He brought them with him where ever he went and they seem to be keeping him safe so far. The soldiers were putting their life's on the line every day and were under a huge level of stress and anxiety. They needed little superstitions like these to keep them going.
DeleteThis goes with what Jeffrey said, but I think he wore them just for his own mindset. He was probably too scared to not wear them because he knew so well what it was like to wear them. It might have been the fear of the unknown that made him wear them.
DeleteI think he just wanted something to believe in. When there's something to take your mind off of things, it's easy to keep it as your "back up". Especially if it reminds him of home.
DeleteTo me, at first, it seemed extremely odd that he would bring this item as a good luck charm. But after reading this chapter the idea of it becomes more of a symbol for hope. That hope kept him going whether he believed in magic or not. As long as he had hope he was good.
DeleteI think Dobbins wanted so badly sometthing to believe in. Here he was stuck in a horrific war so the simplest things such as stockings seemed to make all his pain go away. I think he truely did belive in the magic because he had convinced himself of it.
DeleteI don't think he necessarily believed they were magic but I do think that they became routine and that made him more comfortable which could seem like magic at sometimes.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about the comforting role women play for soldiers in this chapter versus in "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong"?
ReplyDeleteWell I think at the beginning of 'Song Tra Bong' the woman was also a comforter, but in a different sense. They all loved her because she could relate to them after actually being in the Nam, and that was comforting to them. I think that was the whole reason Mary Anne was brought there in the first place, was so that Fossie would be content knowing she was with him.
DeleteI don't think Mary Anne was a good luck charm for Fossie; she was just his companion. However, Dobbins's girl was a good luck charm, a fantasy for him. Not much else. I guess once you're away from someone for so long, you maybe start to forget that they're more than just a memory, more than a pair of stockings. And maybe the separation is what brought the breakup upon Dobbins and his girlfriend.
DeleteI thought that the stocking themselves offered so much comfort for Dobbins because even after his girl friend left him he kept them hanging around his neck. She was the girl that brought the ideas of home. Mary Anne ended up having the opposite effect for Fosse because she changed so much. She broke his heart and offered nothing but a necklace of human tongues.
DeleteIn this chapter, Henry Dobbins took comfort in knowing that his girlfriend was safe at home waiting for him, while in Sweatheart of the Song Tra Bong Mark Fossie was impatient and wanted his girlfriend with him no matter what. In the end, the girls both left their boyfriends. I think that this shows that the role that the women play for the men depends on the person and their situation.
ReplyDeleteHenry Dobbin's good luck charm was a pair of stockings from his girlfriend. If you were in the position of a soldier, would you bring a good luck charm? And if so, what?
ReplyDeleteI think I would more of just a piece of mind if anything, maybe not for the superstitious part of it. I would bring something small that is easy to carry and doesn't take up much space. Also something that has some significance to my life. Like for me, I would bring something like a small smooth stone, maybe a birthstone from either my birthday or a significant other.
Deletehttp://www.remembertheafl.com/images/Birthstones.jpg
I probably would bring a good luck charm! I'm not exactly sure what, because I don't think my lucky pencil would suffice. But I think having one would help me believe things would turn out alright, like a little boost of the false hope that soldiers need sometimes.
DeleteHere's an article on just some of the things soldiers carry for good luck. I really like the idea of a poem.
ReplyDeletehttp://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=128487
Why did the stockings still retain their magic after Henry's girlfriend broke up with him? Or, at least, why did he believe they did?
ReplyDeleteBecause it wasn't really for his girlfriend anymore, but it was for his want to return home. The stockings held the magic of the return home.
DeleteThey still worked because the luck came if he believed it came from the stockings. He didn't know any other way so he kept believing in his stockings. It was all he had left between himself and chaos.
ReplyDeleteO'Brian describe Henry Dobbins as a man 'like america itself, big and strong, full of good intentions, a roll of fat jiggling at his belly, slow foot but always podding along, always there when you needed him, a believer in the virtues of simplicity and directness and hard labor" (111). Do you agree that this description of him makes him like America?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete