Student Question

What is ironic about Chris's donation in Into the Wild?

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The irony in Chris McCandless's donation lies in his contribution to OXFAM America, a hunger relief organization, only to die of starvation himself two years later. Despite his idealistic nature and desire for adventure, his choice to donate all his savings meant for law school and embark on a nomadic lifestyle led to his eventual demise from hunger in the Alaskan wilderness, highlighting the tragic irony of his fate.

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All of the answers are technically true, but the one that is the most ironic is the first one. Chris McCandless donated his money to OXFAM America, which is a hunger relief organization. The ultimate irony in this fact is that, two years later, he himself died of starvation.

Chris McCandless was an idealist and an enigma. After he donated the money that was to have put him through law school to OXFAM, he began to pursue his lifelong dream of traveling the country, with no itinerary, no companions, and few amenities. There were a number of instances where he unwittingly put his own life in danger, but the call to wander in complete freedom as he felt it within his soul was stronger than anything to him, even his own well-being. After donating his money, Chris never saw his family again, but on one of his earlier trips, taken during the summer between...

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school semesters, he returned so emaciated that his parents were stunned. During the two years between his college graduation and his final fateful trip into the Alaskan wilds, Chris traveled ceaselessly, and survived a flash flood, heatstroke while hiking in the desert during the height of summer, and being caught in a ferocious storm while paddling a canoe on the open sea. When he finally died, he had gotten himself stuck in the Alaskan bush, into which he had hiked with nothing more than a small sack of rice and a lunch packed by the wife of the man who gave him a ride. Trapped by the high waters of a river which was swollen with runoff from the mountains, Chris had tried to live off plants and seeds in his environment, but had been unsuccessful. His decomposed remains, when found, weighed only sixty-five pounds; Chris McCandless, who had donated enough money to finance a good deal of time in law school to an organization which worked to alleviate hunger for others, had starved to death himself.

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