 Kenny 's deaths have been subject to much critical analysis in the media and literary world . In the book South Park and Philosophy : Bigger , Longer , and More Penetrating , an essay by Southern Illinois University philosophy professor Dr. Randall Auxier , entitled " Killing Kenny : Our Daily Dose of Death " , suggests that the fashion of the recurring gag serves to help the viewer become more comfortable with the inevitability of their own death . In the book South Park and Philosophy : You Know , I Learned Something Today , University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point professor Karin Fry wrote an essay concerning the parallels between Kenny 's role in the show and the different concepts of existentialism . 
