Running Head: NORTH KOREAN WAR

Should American go to War with North Korea?

Zayra Ivette Mojica
University of Texas at El Paso
Mr. Shuv Rana Bhat
RWS 1302: Rhetoric and Composition 2
Running Head: NORTH KOREAN WAR

Should American go to War with North Korea?

For many years now, North Korea has been threatening to attack South Korea, Japan, and

the United States of America. They have been bluffing this entire time, but up until recently it

has been known theyve been creating atomic bombs, and missiles. Now that we know North

Korea has the capability to start a war, should America step in and stop them before they cause

any harm? Or should we wait till they make the first move? This issue is being addressed

through two different genres that support the claim why America shouldnt go to war with North

Korea. Alex Wards article, North Korea: the US should be beaten to death like a rabid dog,

explains how North Korea is not a threat to the U.S, but they also wont give up on creating their

nuclear bombs, and a YouTube video, made by creator that goes by name Defense Updates,

claims that even if America would go on an all out war with North Korea, North Korea would

struggle to last and it would not be a worth full win for the U.S. These genres, and their views

will be discussed further throughout the rest of this analysis.

Audience and Purpose

In the first genre, Alex Wards article purpose to bring awareness to the possible threat

North Korea is to not only the U.S but its to allies. As for the video created by Defense Updates,

his purpose is to reveal the flaws and drawbacks North Korea will face if they decide to declare

war on America or an of its allies.

The intended audience of article is geared for adults, and possibly mature teens that are

able to comprehend politics, world affairs and the logistics of war. As for the audience of the

video, its open publically for any one to watch but it intended audience is set for adults and teens

that are interested in the topic, but its speech is simplified for anyone to understand. In the
Running Head: NORTH KOREAN WAR

article, it explains what the stance of each involving country, and how they fit into this. As for

the video, you dont need any political knowledge before hand to understand the comparison

between North Koreas military force and the U.S. military force.

Both genres differ in the time needed to cover information to get their point across to the

audience. The first genre is presented through an article; readers will only keep reading as long

as they are interested about what they are reading. Because of this the article needs to be brief

and entertaining to keep the reader interested. As for the video, its almost 7 minutes long; it

contains visual images to keep the viewer entertained, while the creator gets his point across with

simple choice of words that can be easily understood by any one.

The purpose of the article is to inform its readers what is currently happening in the world

affairs of not only North Korea, and the U.S., but also both countries allies. As for the video it

focuses on showing what would happen if the U.S. went to war with North Korea, and who

would become triumphant. Both topics involve informing the audiences on why we shouldnt

panic about a World War III happening, but they both do it in such different ways.

The use of language in both genres differs; the video is geared to an audience of any age

that would be interested and able to understand the topic easily. While the article is geared

towards a more mature audience like older teens or adults, its language includes words that

would work more for a knowledgeable person that has been well informed of the topic

beforehand.

The article only contains one image of an activist protesting in front of the North Korean

Embassy. The activist is wearing a mask with the image of Kim Jong-Un while posing next to a

nuclear bomb. The protest is for bringing attention to the fact humanity as a whole should start
Running Head: NORTH KOREAN WAR

banning nuclear weapons. Specifically to ban nuclear weapons for North Korea. As for the

video, it contains many images of Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, its military force, air force, and

navy force. These images showed how in comparison North Koreas technology is far too

outdated to take on the current technology the U.S. has.

The article tends to keep a simple color scheme that focuses on the colors, black, white,

red, yellow, and a grayish-blue. Using yellow to pop out to the reader, and the grayish-blue color

to highlight important words and lead the reader into other articles that go more in depth of the

topic at hand. As for the video it doesnt have an important color scheme, other than the fact red

pops out a lot, especially because that its the color of communism.

Rhetorical Issues

Both genres dont showcase a lot of rhetorical appeals, but the few appeals they do, they

both differ in the way they do it.

Ethos

In the Article, the writer includes quotes, and events that are linked and can be traced

down to the original sources. The writer uses these quotes and events to inform the reader about

the current situation North Korea, and the U.S. is in. These quotes and events are linked to other

articles and or original sources that are creditable. As for the video it uses facts that have been

known about North Koreas resources. The video doesnt link any source where they got their

information, but with a quick search online, you could easily find this information to be

creditable.

Pathos
Running Head: NORTH KOREAN WAR

The article does not use any emotional appeal that is very noticeable, but towards the end,

it does insert an unquestionable inquiry that may bring in a bit of fear in to the reader. That even

though most likely North Korea wont bomb anyone anytime soon, theres still a chance Kim

Jong-Un is delusional enough to actually try something. The video doesnt really show the use of

Pathos, other than its main purpose is to reassure the viewer that even if North Korea declares

war, they will easily be taken down within a short amount of time.

Logos

The article uses events and quotes from important officials to explain to the reader the

current situation that North Korea is in. By using this information they are able to persuade the

reader into not believing the deception North Korea has created and caused us to believe.

Because if North Korea wanted to declare war and use their atomic bombs, they would have

already done it. The video uses Logos by strategically comparing North Koreas resources, like

food, ammunition, and technology, will hold them back. For example North Korea has only

recently opened up to the world since its been isolated since the 1950s. They are still using the

same technology they have had since they fought in World War II, even if they figured out the

technology to create atomic bombs, they are still far behind when compared to where the U.S. in

now. Even if North Korea has a military force of about 1 million active members, they still lack

the resources to feed all the members with food, and equip them with proper weapons.

Structure and Delivery

Both genres delivered and organized the information differently but still flowed very

easily. The article started with showing the reader the facts, then used logic to show the reader

their opinion on the matter. This leads up to weather we should really take Kim Jong-Uns
Running Head: NORTH KOREAN WAR

threats as a bluff, or an actual threat. As for the video, the speaker clearly states their conclusion

at the beginning of the video, and then spends the rest of the video explaining why we shouldnt

worry if we actually go to war with North Korea, and how it wouldnt be worth it.

Conclusion

Finally both genres discussed the topic as suitable as they could. The article had included

more political view on the topic, while the video was definitely simpler to understand and

interpret. Each genre showed different views of the issue, but still was able to come to the same

conclusion. Both genres believe that in the near future North Korea will not declare war, and if

they do they will ultimately suffer a great defeat. So we shouldnt get tremendously worried over

a World War III happening.

References

Defense Updates. (2017, July 19). WHY NORTH KOREA WONT EVEN LAST A FEW

DAYS IN A WAR WITH THE U.S? Retrieved September 24, 2017 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHGbG_I3v28

Ward, Alex. (2017, September 14). North Korea: the US should be beaten to death like a rabid

dog. Retrieved September 24, 2017 from

https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/14/16306772/north-korea-united-states-japan-south-

korea-trump-rabid-dog-threat