The Onion: Kim Jong-un Privately Doubting He's Crazy Enough to Run North Korea

                The Onion is perhaps America’s greatest news source in that the articles it presents are not quite true yet completely hilarious. This reputation did not fall short in The Onion’s article “Kim Jong-un Privately Doubting He’s Crazy Enough to Run North Korea”. Written for December 18^th, 2011, The Onion takes a novel perspective on an issue that new dictator Kim Jong-un has to deal with, a problem that most individuals may not be aware of.

                The global community is clearly aware that Kim Jong-il was not of the greatest mental health. Thus, one of the primary concerns of the new Kim is whether or not he can match up to the craziness of his father. The Onion offers an exclusive look into how the new ruler of North Korea attempts to go out of the shadows of his father. Kim Jong-un expresses some doubt as to whether he is sufficiently insane enough to take on the title of dictator of North Korea. As the Onion explains, Kim Jong-un notes that attempting to live up to his father’s insanity levels have taken a toll. "For years, I haven't even enjoyed the things I used to love, like forcing starving people to perform a five-hour dance routine in my honor, because I spend the whole time obsessing over whether I'm being wacko enough," Kim admitted.

                The strongest rhetorical device that the Onion uses is a glaring sarcasm and irony that translates into not only great humor but a rather frank assessment of what many people believe but are unwilling to openly talk about. We can almost guarantee that the quotes the Onion provides are falsified, but even with that knowledge, the humor and strength of “quoting experts” (this time with a subtle irony attached to the rhetorical device usage, of course) is still present. Also, that this article is written otherwise exactly the same as a normal/more credible news article would be, such as one from TIME or NY Times. The strict adherence to an informative format adds only to the humor of this article. The purpose of entertaining the Onion’s readers is certainly achieved.