The Lottery Analytical Essay In this short story, written by Shirley Jackson, the townspeople have somewhat of violent “tradition”. The people participate in this process called stoning where someone is randomly beaten to death by stones. Shirley doesn't specifically say why they do this or why it is still happening but she does drop hints. Now, here are some theories why. Towards the middle of the story, a character, Old Man Warner says “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” This might mean that they do this as a sacrifice to a god or higher being. Maybe, so they can get rich soil to grow crops in or so they have a plentiful harvest. But maybe they do the lottery because for another reason. During the story Old Man Warner says that if they