Title: Lucky Pencil
General Information about Item:
- Ritual
- English
- United States
Informant Data:
- Katherine Cane was born on August 10th, 1999 in Walnut Creek, California. Her family currently resides in Orinda, California. She is a ’21 at Dartmouth studying Mathematics. Katherine would love to pursue either a career in engineering or finance. She is a very spiritual and superstitious person.
- Contextual Data:
Social Context:
- The data was collected in person in the Jones Media Center. Paul asked Katherine if she had any pre-exam superstitions or rituals and gave her a minute to think before responding. Katherine uses the same pencil for every exam. She noticed her best friend in high school using the same pencil during exams and asked her why. Her friend responded that she only gets good grades when she uses that pencil, which relaxes her and mentally prepares her to take the exam. Katherine tried it for one exam and did very well. She continues this exa superstition to this day.
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:
- Katherine claimed to be a very superstitious person. For the past three years, prior to any math exam, she must have her lucky pink pencil. Katherine thinks that her special pencil brings her good luck and success; without it she feels lost and confused. She has only attempted one exam question without her pencil, but could not figure it out until she switched to it mid-exam.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
I’ve used the same pencils on every math exam for the past three years… I don’t do well without those pencils… I tried to do the first problem on the last test without a pencil. I could not figure it out until I switched pencils.
Collector’s Comments:
- When presenting this folklore to the class, everyone laughed. Although it may seem stupid and unrealistic, Katherine genuinely believes her pencil is lucky and will propel her to success.
Collector’s Name: Paul Cane
Tags/Keywords: Physical Charm. Contagious Magic. Superstition.