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Snickers is a poodle who performs in shows at the Big Top Mall. She stands and jumps on Stella’s back and, once Stella dies and Ruby takes over her performances, she rides Ruby, too. Snickers never speaks for herself or expresses any personality over the course of the novel. Bob looks down on her because she’s a poodle—to him, poodles are “parasites.”
Snickers Quotes in The One and Only Ivan
The The One and Only Ivan quotes below are all either spoken by Snickers or refer to Snickers. 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:
).
change—worry Quotes
“The circus trainers chained her to the floor, Ivan. All four feet. Twenty-three hours a day.”
I puzzle over why this would be a good idea. I always try to give humans the benefit of the doubt.
“Why would they do that?” I finally ask.
“To break her spirit,” Stella says. “So she could learn to balance on a pedestal. So she could stand on her hind legs. So a dog could jump on her back while she walked in mindless circles.”
I hear her tired voice and think of all the tricks Stella has learned.
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The baby elephant Ruby has recently arrived at the mall, and Ivan is asking another elephant, Stella, if Ruby is going to be okay. Rather than answer yes or no, though, Stella tells Ivan about what Ruby has already endured during her short life. Ivan does his best to not underestimate humans, even though they continuously underestimate and mistreat him. He acknowledges throughout the novel that humans sometimes have good ideas and can do things that seem magical to him—such as spinning cotton candy. But when it comes to the humans’ cruelty to animals, Ivan discovers that their actions are Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi
days—finally Quotes
During the last show of the day, Ruby seems tired. When she stumbles, Mack reaches for the claw-stick.
I tense, waiting for her to strike back.
Ruby doesn’t even flinch. She just keeps plodding along, and after a while, Snickers jumps onto her back.
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Ivan has been working on his painting for Ruby for several weeks now, and it’s becoming increasingly clear to him how necessary it is that he succeeds—Mack is becoming crueler to Ruby when she doesn’t behave perfectly during the shows at the mall. The way Ivan describes Ruby suggests that after several weeks of training, Mack is starting to break her spirit. Ruby isn’t just tired—she’s no longer willing to fight back when Mack threatens to hurt her. This stands in sharp contrast to her first training session with Mack, when Ruby hit Mack in the groin after he threatened Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dign
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Snickers Character Timeline in The One and Only Ivan
The timeline below shows where the character Snickers appears in The One and Only Ivan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
hello—the littlest big top on earth
...Mack dresses as a clown and rides on a tiny bike, while a dog named Snickers rides on Stella’s back. Stella sits on a sturdy stool. Ivan doesn’t do tricks, since...
(full context)
gone—the beetle
...tricks she learned there for the show here. She stands on her hind legs while Snickers jumps on her head. This is a difficult trick when you’re as big as Stella...
(full context)
...is everywhere and that he’s a “wild beast.” When Ivan suggested that Bob work like Snickers the poodle, Bob responded by snarling and pointing out that Snickers eats nasty meat from...
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change—worry
...makes her limp in a circle. Ruby sticks close to Stella and watches, wide-eyed, as Snickers leaps on Stella’s back and head. Stella’s foot hurts too much to enter the ring...
(full context)
a new beginning—another ivan
...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,...
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days—finally
...but she doesn’t even acknowledge the hit. Instead, she keeps walking and, after a bit, Snickers leaps onto Ruby’s back.
(full context)
