Superstition plays a huge role in The Things They Carried, especially for Henry Dobbins. The moment Dobbins wraps the pantyhose around his neck he becomes invincible. Nothing can harm him. Stories have been told about how Dobbins stepped on a land mine and he got up without a scratch. Another story talks about how he got caught in the middle of a fire fight. He also got up without a single scratch after that experience.
In my opinion, the only reason people believe in such superstitions is because they have gotten lucky numerous times in a row. Therefore they look for something to blame their luck on. In Dobbins case, the pantyhose wrapped around his neck symbolize such luck. Another reason that he may believe in the superstition is because there is really nothing else to explain what happened to him. There is no explanation for how Dobbins could escape all of those situations alive, let alone without a single scratch.
I’m the kind of person that will “Knock on wood” a lot. It’s really the only superstition that I fall for. I don’t actually know why I do it; I just fear that if I don’t do it, then something bad will happen. That is really the premise for every superstition.
In conclusion, I guess people have superstitions because there is no other way to explain some occurrences. For example, there is no way of explaining how Dobbins survived tripping a land mine and getting caught in the middle of a firefight. The soldiers in Vietnam looked towards superstition instead of religion as a way for them to stay safe.
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