I did not know that the term "security blanket" would later become part of the American language. -Schulz

Linus Van Pelt, stand-up philosopher, is the walking contradiction of the Peanuts gang. He is "bright but very innocent." He possesses an intense philosophical mind, but is a slave to his security blanket, "inspired by the blankets that [Schulz's] first three children dragged aorund the house," and his never-ending thumb sucking.

He confounds his sister Lucy, puzzles Charlie Brown, deflects Sally's romantic advances, and has nothing but adoration for his teacher Ms. Othmar. He is a man of faith, believing in the mystical Great Pumpkin, waiting every Halloween in the pumpkin patch for a sighting. Every Halloween he is dissapointed. But he never stops believing, and every fall he chooses to wait in the patch while his friends enjoy trick-or-treating.

Schulz' friends and family often compared him to Linus, “philosophical and [always] wondering about life.”