Title: Lucky Pencil

General Information about Item:

• Ritual

• English

• United States

Informant Data:

• Megan Crook was born on March 28th, 1997 in San Jose, California. Her family currently resides in Alamo, California. Megan is a ’19 at Dartmouth studying Japanese. Megan would love to pursue a career in Sales & Trading in Tokyo, Japan. Megan is a very quiet and superstitious person.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context
  • The data was collected in person on the first floor of the Berry Library. Paul asked Megan if she had any pre-exam superstitions or rituals and gave her a minute to think before responding. Megan uses the same pencil during exams that she used on practice problems. She does this because she believes that using this pencil while doing practice problems can translate to a better understanding of the material during the exam. She started to do this ritual after speaking with one her teammates, Katherine, who also uses a lucky pencil.

• Cultural Context
  • The cultural context of this folklore reflects the competitive atmosphere of Dartmouth college, where every grade impacts as student’s GPA. Students at an Ivy League do not just try to succeed in their classes, but to outperform their peers. As a result of this high stress environment, students may turn to superstitions or ritual to lessen the pressure.
• Item:
  • Megan is both very quiet and superstitious. Upon asking her if she has any pre-exam rituals or superstitions, she immediately responded that she has to use her “lucky pen” both on the practice test and actual exam. Similar to Katherine Cane and her lucky pencil, Megan believes she will not perform on an exam without her pen. She said she has never attempted to take a Japanese exam without it. “If I tried to write Japanese with another writing implement, it wouldn’t work,” she said. She started using her lucky pen when she heard that her teammate did the same thing and it worked for her teammate.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File: 

When I take practice tests with a specific pen, I have to take the test with the same pen… I guess I think I won’t do well on the test if I don’t use the same pen.

Collector’s Comments: 

• While it may seem silly, Megan religiously uses the same pen on practice exams and the real test — she cannot thrive unless she does so.

Collector’s Name: Paul Cane

Tags/Keywords: Physical Charm. Diffusion. Superstition.