So Much Irony!!! - Draft

The Onion is the premier web site for news satire. This means that the site uses satire and irony to get their point across to their viewers. The Onion is meant for people who are at least 18 years older, as evidenced by the disclaimer on the bottom of the web page saying that the content is appropriate for people 18 and older. In general, the Onion is also aimed at readers who are well educated, intelligent, and follow current events well enough to understand the humor behind the text.



The text that I analyzed was a satirical article titled, “Heroic PETA Commandos Kill 49, Save Rabbit.” As the title suggests, zealous PETA members kill an exorbitant amount of people to save one measly rabbit. Even the title of the article resembles a title one might come across when finding news regarding tragic deaths at a shooting or battle from war.

So, to be a bit more specific than before, this particular article is targeting people who already think that PETA members have gone off the deep end. Those who think this will thus be able to fully appreciate the irony used in this article. On the other hand, those who support PETA will not be satisfied with the negative and extreme portrayal of PETA.

Before more analysis is done on this article I think it is important to preface it with some background information. When it comes to animal rights, the first thing that comes to mind is most likely PETA, which is short for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; and right or wrong, PETA has connotations with an organization that is crazy, overzealous, and blinded by their goals. People also believe that PETA members would rather draw attention to themselves than the actual issue they are fighting for when they are protesting. The article, as stated before, works off of these connotations by sharing a news report that is so outrageously violent and appalling that it represents PETA’s connotations at its strongest.

Irony is a strong component of satire, and it is subsequently used effectively several times in this article. First, there is the irony in the article itself. By simply reading the title, the main ironic point is understood: PETA killed 49 people to save one rabbit. JUST ONE RABBIT! One would argue (most correctly) that not even one human life, let alone 49, is worth the life of a single rabbit. Although PETA should value life on all fronts, PETA attempts to stick to its literal goals by preserving animal life at all costs! However it is ironic because humans, by definition, are also animals.

The news report also ends with an ironic twist. The animal that PETA saved with the cost of many human lives ends up getting viciously eaten by a fox the moment it is released into the wilderness! Not only is it ironic because the rabbit that PETA went out of their way to save ended up being killed, and was in fact safer in the hands of the so called barbarians than in the wilderness; but this ending was also very funny.

Another reason why this article is so effective in poking fun at PETA is because the story goes over the top with its already outlandish story. After the many deaths at the research facility, PETA attacks again at the funerals of the deceased. Claiming that the holes being dug were ruining the environments of moles in the area, PETA commandos struck once again, spraying machine gun bullets into the procession, killing more innocent, or not so innocent lives. One would expect the atrocity to end at the research facility attack, but the article surprises yet again with another related shooting incident! At this point the reader is willing to accept any other outrageous actions by PETA.

This false news report also makes PETA’s views on where they value life very clear by changing their diction and tone when describing both the rabbit and the humans. Whenever the rabbit is brought up, it is described very cutely and preciously. For example, the rabbit is described as being, “floppy-eared, having speckled gray longhair with an adorable pink nose.” Meanwhile the researchers are dubbed “filthy barbarians” and “hairless, human, animal-hating scum who so richly deserve to get their skulls smashed in with the back end of an automatic weapon.”

The article makes the contrast even more effective because the vulgar descriptions of the humans immediately follows the warmer description of the rabbit, or vise versa. In one instance, a PETA commando continues to comment on the cuteness of the precious bunny that was saved while she is described as, “walking past the charred and dismembered bodies of its captors.”

This also makes PETA members seem oblivious to the fact that the costs outweighed the benefits in this “rescue.” Either that or they value animal life much, much more than human life. Whichever the article implies or whichever the reader infers, both possibilities are terrible.

Although news should be unbiased, based on the way the writer describes the rabbit it is safe to say that the author is also sympathizing with the rabbit, to a degree. The PETA commandos may have been very descriptive in their cute analysis of the rabbit, but more importantly, the journalist also describes the rabbit cutely too. Basically, anytime the rabbit is mentioned it must be followed with words to reinforce the fact that it is precious and cute.


The strong imagery that is utilized in this article also reinforces the humor in the story. The article goes as far as to describe the killings of the research facility workers in the most vivid and gory way possible. As described by eyewitnesses, the victims were, “first immobilized by gunshot wounds to the knees before being shot execution-style in the back of the Head.” The rescued rabbit was also described in the cutest way possible to display the juxtaposition of affection between the rescued rabbit and the heinously murdered facility workers. The writer reported that the rabbit, after being fed a carrot, had its, “adorable pink nose wiggle up and down, up and down as it chewed, making cute little chewy-faces.” The violent attack that transpired was so gruesome that one person who was interviewed even made it comparable to the Korean War.

If the vivid descriptions weren’t enough, the article also came with two images to reinforce the ridiculousness of the article. The first image has commandos holding guns and the rabbit to illustrate the raid of the research facility. The second picture refers to another PETA raid made on another research facility. The building looks burned down and destroyed; and there is a rabbit sitting outside of the demolished building.


The essence behind this particular article, as is the same for everything on The Onion, is satire. The article imitates a normal news report made by the Associated Press and reports a false story. One cannot help but laugh at the absurdity of the story. The use of irony and imagery of the terrible scene is used in such a beautiful way as to make the reader cry tears of laughter and agreement - if one thinks PETA is crazy, anyway.