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Julia
George is the man who cleans the Big Top Mall every night. He always brings his 10-year-old daughter, Julia, to work with him and leaves her to draw while he cleans. George is a hard worker who cares deeply for the animals at the mall and their wellbeing. However, he also desperately needs his job, as his wife, Sara, is struggling with a chronic illness and he’s the family’s only source of income. Thus, even when George admits that Mack is abusive or neglectful to his animals, he usually doesn’t feel like he’s able to push back and advocate for the animals. However, George does agree to call Mack when Stella’s foot infection flares up—and after she dies as a result of not receiving medical attention, George does speak angrily to Mack. Though George likes Ivan, he seems to agree with Mack that Ivan’s drawings are just scribbles, not depictions of objects or scenes. Because of this, George is initially unwilling to humor Julia when Julia tries to piece together Ivan’s mural. But eventually, George relents, helps Julia assemble the puzzle, and ultimately agrees to put Ivan’s mural on the billboard. While George loses his job at the mall for his role in alerting the media to Ivan and Ruby’s situation, he later gets a job cleaning at the zoo.
George Quotes in The One and Only Ivan
The The One and Only Ivan quotes below are all either spoken by George or refer to George. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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change—worry Quotes
“Mack says the vet’s coming in the morning if Stella’s not any better,” [George] tells Julia. “He says he’s not going to let her die on him, not after all the money he’s put into her.”
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a new beginning—another ivan Quotes
I stare at the One and Only Ivan, at the faded picture of Stella, and I remember George and Mack on their ladders, adding the picture of Ruby to bring new visitors to the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade.
I remember the story Ruby told, the one where the villagers came to her rescue.
I hear Stella’s kind, wise voice: Humans can surprise you sometimes.
I look at my fingers, coated in red paint the color of blood, and I know how to keep my promise.
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days—finally Quotes
I’m ready to show Julia what I’ve made.
It has to be Julia. She’s an artist. Surely she’ll look, truly look, at my painting. She won’t notice the smudges and tears. She won’t care if the pieces don’t quite fit together. She’ll see past all of that.
Surely Julia will see what I’ve imagined.
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Thump. Thump. Thump.
I bounce off the walls. I screech and bellow. I beat and beat and beat my chest.
Bob hides under Not-Tag, his paws over his ears.
I’m angry, at last.
I have someone to protect.
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the next morning—photo Quotes
Mack turns on the TV.
We are on The Early News at Five O’Clock.
Bob says don’t let it go to my head.
There we all are. Mack, Ruby, me. George and Julia. The billboard, the mall, the ring.
And the claw-stick.
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George Character Timeline in The One and Only Ivan
The timeline below shows where the character George appears in The One and Only Ivan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
gone—the beetle
...like the other rude children, but it’s not her fault she’s a child. Her father, George, cleans the mall every night, and Julia sits by Ivan’s domain. She could sit anywhere,...
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...was done, there wasn’t just a picture of Bob—she’d written the name “Bob” under it. George commented that he didn’t realize the dog’s name was Bob, and Julia responded that she...
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...he comes out and stares at Ivan while drinking out of a brown bottle. When George comes up to him, they talk about what they always do—the game, how business is...
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not sleepy. After George and Julia go home, Ivan tells Stella that he can’t sleep. She notes that he’s...
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...keeper in a long time, since Mack doesn’t want to pay for “an ape babysitter.” George cleans Ivan’s cage, while Mack feeds him. When it comes to people who have taken...
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...offers to eat the beetle, but Ivan declines. As Ivan finishes his last picture, Mack, George, and Julia come over. Mack picks up a drawing and says that Ivan draws pictures...
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change—worry
old news. When Julia and George arrive that night, Julia settles in to watch Ruby and barely speaks to Ivan. Stella...
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tricks. Ivan tries to keep sulking after Julia and George leave, but gorillas aren’t good at pouting. So, he asks Stella if she’s noticed the...
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home of the one and only ivan. Ivan watches George and Mack out by the highway. They’re high up on ladders, adding a number of...
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treat. George approaches Stella’s domain and asks how her foot is. Stella puts her trunk out to...
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the parking lot. As George cleans one of Ivan’s windows, Mack frowns and says that there’s something amiss in the...
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...looks too. Stella is lying in some dirty hay, struggling to breathe. Julia calls for George, who says that Mack must know Stella isn’t well. He notes that vets are expensive,...
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Ivan watches George’s lips form a line. When George gets off the phone, he tells Julia that the...
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the promise—a visit
crying. That evening, Julia cries while George cleans. Ivan watches George confront Mack and hears a few words, like “vet” and “should...
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a new beginning—another ivan
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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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...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...
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days—finally
...since she is sighing a lot. He’s still thinking about his painting as Julia asks George what the difference between “principal” and “principle” is. George explains that a principal is a...
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more paintings. George calls for Julia to hurry up so they can go home. Julia doesn’t understand what...
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...will want to sell them. Ivan continues to shove more paintings through the crack as George puts on his coat. He notes that the paintings are just blobs and suggests that...
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angry. Ivan beats his chest, causing George and Julia to spin around and drop what’s in their hands. Ivan storms around his...
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...eyes and says that something is wrong with Ivan—and she can tell he’s still upset. George sighs that he shouldn’t have swept earlier, now that Ivan’s paintings are all over. He...
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finally. George and Julia take Ivan’s pictures to the ring and spend an hour laying them out....
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George smiles helplessly and says he can’t explain the painting. Julia studies Ivan and then the...
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the next morning—photo
...paints Bob, so that Bob can be on the billboard. In the afternoons, Mack and George put up more of Ivan’s pictures on the billboard. These days, Ivan’s paintings cost $65...
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interview. One evening, a man and a woman come to interview Mack, Julia, and George. As Mack and the woman talk, the man walks around and films Ivan painting, Ruby...
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...free Ruby—and some want Mack to shut the mall down. One evening, Mack complains to George that the protestors have it wrong and thanks George for nothing. After Mack storms away,...
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good-bye. George doesn’t grab his mop when he and Julia arrive that night. Instead, as he gathers...
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...a good life. Ruby reaches out to touch Julia as Julia asks where Bob is. George hasn’t seen him, and Julia wants to know what will happen to Bob—especially if Mack...
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leaving—mighty silverback
...about his life. He tells them about his parents, Mack, Ruby, Bob, Stella, Julia, and George. They look away when he’s done, but Kinyani moves closer and lets her shoulder brush...
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...Julia, shouting for him. Ivan races for the wall, dances, and hoots as Julia and George wave. Then, from Julia’s backpack, Ivan hears Bob tell him to stop acting like a...
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Bob explains that George starts his job at the zoo next month. In the meantime, Julia is walking extra...
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Finally, George tells Julia it’s time to go. Julia smiles at Ivan and tells him to say...
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