Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The One and Only Ivan, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Animal Abuse and Human Cruelty
Kindness
Art and Self-Expression
Memory and Storytelling
Family, Friendship, and Identity
Summary
Analysis
a new beginning. Mack stays away from the mall for two days and when he returns, he doesn’t mention Stella. Instead, he says it’s time to teach Ruby some tricks so she can attract more customers. Mack works with Ruby all afternoon, looping ropes around her feet and putting a heavy chain around her neck. He shows her the ball, pedestal, and stool that Stella used, and he introduces her to Snickers. Mack gives Ruby sugar or some apple when she does what she’s supposed to do, and he yells when she doesn’t.
From a business standpoint, losing Stella means that Mack has lost one of the mall’s main attractions—from Ivan’s descriptions, it seems like Stella’s tricks were the highlight of the daily shows. So, while putting Ruby in training makes sense in this way, Mack doesn’t seem to care that Ruby is a baby who will feel emotional distress when he yells at her. To Mack, Ruby exists to make him money—it’s not so important to ensure that she grows up happily or healthily.
Themes
Julia sits to watch Mack and Ruby when she and George arrive. Bob also keeps a close eye on the training session. Mack leads Ruby around the ring in circle after circle, occasionally slapping her. But suddenly, Ruby stops and refuses to move forward. Ivan says that Ruby is exhausted, while Mack calls Ruby an “idiot.” Bob mutters that Mack is the “idiot.” Ivan knows Ruby can’t hear him, but he tells her to walk. Instead, Ruby sits in the sawdust. Julia suggests that Ruby might be tired, but Mack says they’re all tired.
Ivan makes it seem like Mack has been walking Ruby in circles for hours—something that would be mind-numbing for anyone, let alone a baby elephant who regularly complains of being bored. But Mack isn’t willing or able to show Ruby any compassion. Instead, she’s a creature to dominate—and he sees her unwillingness to move forward and play along as rudeness and impertinence, rather than exhaustion or boredom.
Themes
Mack nudges Ruby with his boot, but she doesn’t move. George offers to close up if Mack wants to stop the training session—but Mack yanks on Ruby’s chain again. When he pulls one more time, he falls. At this, he says he’s done playing and goes to his office. He returns with a long stick with a shiny, moon-shaped hook on one end: a claw-stick. Mack touches Ruby with the point, just to show her it can hurt her. Ivan growls, but Ruby doesn’t move. When Ruby huffs, Mack swings the claw-stick back. Julia screams, but Mack says he’s not going to hurt her. As Bob snarls, Mack brings the hook down so that it passes right above Ruby’s head. He shouts that Ruby doesn’t want to test him and tells her to move.
Both Julia and George want to make sure that Ruby isn’t going to suffer, even if she does have to learn Stella’s tricks. But pulling out the claw-stick when Ruby gets tired shows how willing Mack is to be cruel to get what he wants, as the novel associates the claw-stick with human violence. The novel has made it very clear that the claw-stick can cause a lot of pain and suffering, so threatening Ruby with it allows Mack to show Ruby just how powerful he is. She may be bigger than he is, but he has a tool that can make her life miserable.
Themes
Ruby flings her trunk at Mack and makes a noise that, to Ivan, is “the most beautiful mad” sound he’s ever heard. She slaps Mack with her trunk. Ivan doesn’t see which part of his body she hits, but Mack falls to the ground and curls into a ball.
Ivan implies that it’s “beautiful” when animals push back against this kind of inhumane treatment, and that this sort of uprising is necessary. The novel implies that Mack deserved to get hit (presumably in the groin) for threatening Ruby.
Themes
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poor mack. Mack stumbles to his office, and Ruby watches him go. George and Julia comfort Ruby and settle her back in her domain with fresh food and water. Ruby falls asleep quickly. Then, Julia asks George if Mack will hurt Ruby. George doesn’t think so, but Julia suggests that they call someone. George doesn’t know who to call—and he needs this job. He tells Julia to get back to her homework.
George doesn’t want Mack to hurt Ruby, but he also realizes that he can’t jeopardize his job. In this way, he quietly supports Mack’s cruelty and abuse through inaction because of his own financial circumstances. To Julia, though, it’s easier to see this situation as black-and-white: Mack is doing something wrong, and it’s her and George’s responsibility to stand up for Ruby.
Themes
Julia pulls out a metal box and explains to George that she’s going to paint Ruby for art class. As George turns to walk away, Julia asks if he saw Mack’s face when Ruby hit him. In a serious tone, George says he did. He says, “poor Mack,” but Ivan hears George laughing as he turns away.
George doesn’t want to teach Julia that it’s okay to laugh or be happy when someone gets hurt—but he laughs, nevertheless. He agrees with Julia that Mack was treating Ruby horribly and deserved to get hurt, even if he’d like to teach his daughter better.
Themes
colors. When Julia opens her metal box, Ivan sees squares of color that almost glow. He watches her dip a brush into water and then tap the red square. When she puts the brush to the paper, flowers appear. The brush seems like magic and distracts Ivan from thinking of Ruby, Mack, Stella, and the claw-stick. He watches as Julia paints a picture of Ruby. After a bit, Julia steps back and scowls that the painting isn’t right. Ivan tries to look encouraging as she starts to crumple her paper, but then she offers it to Ivan. Ivan picks it up gently. He’s not going to eat any of it.
Again, Ivan shows here that art can be a distraction from one’s troubles—these paints, presumably watercolors, are magical to Ivan. In Ivan’s understanding, they’re so magical because they seem to literally create something beautiful from nothing, an idea that’s particularly precious given how dire Ivan and Ruby’s situation seems to him now.
Themes
Then, Julia runs to her backpack and pulls out three jars, each of them a different color. She opens them and puts them inside Ivan’s domain, and then passes him some paper. She says that they’re finger paints. Ivan puts a finger in the red jar and tastes the paint. It doesn’t taste bad. With a laugh, Julia shows him how to paint with the paints. Ivan copies her and makes a red handprint. Unlike the prints on his glass that get wiped away, this one is permanent.
The finger paints are significant in that they resemble the mud Ivan painted with as a baby. In both cases, Ivan can use his hands—not a separate tool, like a crayon—to make art. This suggests that the finger paints will help Ivan connect with his past. And his note that the finger paint handprint doesn’t disappear suggests that along with this, Ivan will also be able to make something that lasts. This gives him a small amount of control over his life.
Themes
a bad dream. Ivan and Bob are awake, peeling and licking paint off themselves. Ivan keeps an eye on the claw-stick in the ring, and suddenly, Ruby cries out. Ivan tells her that she’s having a bad dream, but she’s safe. Gulping, Ruby asks for Stella before she remembers. Ivan encourages her to go back to sleep, but Ruby says she can’t. She was dreaming of a sharp stick that hurt her. Ivan and Bob glance at each other as Ruby asks if Mack is mad that she hurt him. Gorillas are bad liars, so Ivan admits that Mack is probably upset.
Though Stella’s death is still recent and was very traumatic for Ruby, it’s significant that Ruby only has nightmares after Mack starts to train her. This suggests that Mack’s training techniques—particularly the claw-stick—are making it impossible for Ruby to feel safe and secure. Fortunately, though, she has Ivan to turn to; he starts to step into a fatherly role here.
Themes
After a minute of silence, Ruby says she smells something odd. Ivan suggests it’s the finger paints and explains that he makes pictures with them. He says that someday, he’ll make a picture of Ruby. Then, he shows her Julia’s painting of Ruby. Ruby wants to know why she only has two feet in the picture, and Bob says it’s because of “artistic license.” With a sigh, Ruby asks for another story. Ivan can’t think of anything for a while, and Ruby asks if Ivan is going to save her. Ivan says he’s working on it. When Ruby says she has another question, Ivan knows he won’t want to hear it. Ruby asks if she’s going to die in this domain like Stella. Ivan says she won’t if he can help it—and Ruby isn’t in a domain. She’s in a cage.
Ruby continues to show how young, naïve, and in need of guidance she is as Ivan gives her another art lesson. However, Ruby is also starting to grow up—she knows enough now to realize that chances are good that her life isn’t going to improve, and she’ll end up much like Stella. Ivan’s response, though, is interesting. It seems like he finally realizes that he has someone to protect: Ruby. And noting that Ruby is in a cage rather than a domain shows that Ivan is no longer willing to sugarcoat the fact that they live in captivity.
Themes
the story. Ivan looks around at the ring, the skylight, and the moon. He says he’s going to tell Ruby what he hopes is a true story. Once there was once a brave, smart baby elephant who needed to go to a zoo. A zoo, he explains, is “where humans make amends.” In good zoos, humans take care of animals and the animals are safe. Ruby asks if the baby elephant got to the zoo. After a minute, Ivan says yes. The baby elephant had a friend who made a promise.
By telling Ruby this story, Ivan continues to step into a more parental role with her. He essentially affirms that she’s right—good people do exist—and he vows to figure out a way to get Ruby to the good people at a zoo, where she’ll be safe and happy. This story is especially significant for Ivan, as it shows that he doesn’t think he’s powerless anymore. He doesn’t provide details as to what he’s going to do, but he’s now committed to helping Ruby.
Themes
how. After a long time, Ruby falls back to sleep. With a yawn, Bob asks how Ivan is going to get Ruby to a zoo. Suddenly feeling exhausted, Ivan admits that he doesn’t have a plan. Bob says that Ivan will figure something out and falls right to sleep. Ivan wonders what will happen if he doesn’t as he watches Bob’s feet twitch.
Ivan might not have a plan yet, but he still has his friends around him to encourage him and keep his spirits up. Previously, Ivan equated being a silverback with protecting one's family. Now that Ivan is dedicated to protecting Ruby, it follows that Ivan will also be better able to step into his identity as a silverback.
Themes
remembering. Bob and Ruby sleep, but Ivan doesn’t. He thinks about his promise to Stella, his pictures for Ruby, and he remembers everything.
Now that Ivan can look forward to the future, he finds that it’s easier to look backwards and remember. He has something to look forward to, so he doesn’t want to repeat the past.
Themes
What they did. Ivan remembers that he and Tag were holding tightly to their mother when humans killed her and their father. The humans chopped off the dead gorillas’ hands, feet, and heads.
Killing the gorillas and cutting off the their body parts was a brutally violent act, and it was certainly traumatizing for Ivan to witness this. By not sharing this with Ruby, Ivan protected her from sharing in this trauma.
Themes
Something else to buy. Ivan notes that there’s a musty store near his cage. There, they sell an ashtray made from a gorilla’s hand.
Gorillas, Ivan suggests, are commodities and entertainment for humans—whether they’re dead or alive.
Themes
another ivan. In the morning, Ivan studies the highway billboard. He looks at the depiction of the One and Only Ivan, with his angry expression. That Ivan looks like Ivan’s father did on the day the humans came. Ivan thinks he’s pretty peaceful—but inside of him is an Ivan who could tear a man apart and take revenge. That Ivan is on the billboard. Ivan remembers George and Mack adding Ruby to the billboard, and he remembers Ruby telling him about the villagers saving her. He remembers Stella saying that sometimes, humans are surprising. Noting the red paint on his fingers, Ivan knows how he can keep his promise to Stella.
Ivan makes the connection here that the version of him on the billboard doesn’t accurately depict him now—but it could, if Ivan became more like his father. Silverbacks like Ivan’s father use anger to defend their families, and now, Ivan now has something to be angry about: Mack’s mistreatment of Ruby. This suggests that Ivan is starting to figure out how he can tap into his latent identity as a silverback (and as an artist, judging by the paint on his fingers) to protect Ruby.
Themes
