Ivan’s TV symbolizes how small Ivan’s world is, and how powerless he is, when he lives at the Big Top Mall. The TV is Ivan’s only connection to the outside world. He spends most of his TV-watching time watching Westerns, which he enjoys, but they don’t reflect real life particularly accurately. At one point, for instance, Ivan wishes he could be like the sheriffs he’s seen in the Westerns and enforce the law at the mall—but instead, Ivan is powerless to make anyone, human or animal, do what he wants.
Nevertheless, the TV offers Ivan important insight into the rest of the world. It’s because of television that Ivan knows he’s not the only gorilla in the world, since a nature documentary shows Ivan another male gorilla. The TV is also responsible for showing Ivan what a zoo looks like so that Ivan can then paint a more accurate depiction of a zoo as he works to free Ruby. But while the TV may do good things for Ivan in these instances, it’s also important to note that Ivan doesn’t have any control over what he sees on TV, or if he even gets to watch TV at all. Any help or insight the TV might offer is useful, but Ivan can’t control when, how, or if he gets this information.
Finally, it’s impossible to note the resemblance between Ivan’s TV and Ivan’s life inside his cage. Just as Ivan is powerless to choose what he watches on TV or if the TV is on at all, he’s also powerless to stop being entertainment for visitors to the mall—in his cage with glass walls, Ivan is akin to a TV show that’s always playing.
The TV Quotes in The One and Only Ivan
My visitors are often surprised when they see the TV Mack put in my domain. They seem to find it odd, the sight of a gorilla staring at tiny humans in a box.
Sometimes I wonder, though: Isn’t the way they stare at me, sitting in my tiny box, just as strange?
My visitors are often surprised when they see the TV Mack put in my domain. They seem to find it odd, the sight of a gorilla staring at tiny humans in a box.
Sometimes I wonder, though: Isn’t the way they stare at me, sitting in my tiny box, just as strange?
Mack turns on my TV. It’s a Western. There’s a human with a big hat and a small gun. He has a shiny star pinned to his chest. That means he is the sheriff and he will be getting rid of all the bad guys.
“If this sells quick, I’m getting you some more of that paint, buddy,” Mack says.
He walks away with my painting. Ruby’s painting. For a moment, I imagine what it would feel like to be that sheriff.
Mack turns on my TV. It’s a Western. There’s a human with a big hat and a small gun. He has a shiny star pinned to his chest. That means he is the sheriff and he will be getting rid of all the bad guys.
“If this sells quick, I’m getting you some more of that paint, buddy,” Mack says.
He walks away with my painting. Ruby’s painting. For a moment, I imagine what it would feel like to be that sheriff.
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.
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.
They stand side by side, just the way Stella and Ruby used to. Their trunks entwine. I see something new in Ruby’s eyes, and I know what it is.
It’s joy.
I watch the whole thing, and then Maya plays it again for me, and again. At last she turns off the TV and carries it out of the cage.
I put my hand to the glass. Maya looks over.
Thank you, I try to say with my eyes. Thank you.
They stand side by side, just the way Stella and Ruby used to. Their trunks entwine. I see something new in Ruby’s eyes, and I know what it is.
It’s joy.
I watch the whole thing, and then Maya plays it again for me, and again. At last she turns off the TV and carries it out of the cage.
I put my hand to the glass. Maya looks over.
Thank you, I try to say with my eyes. Thank you.
The TV Symbol Timeline in The One and Only Ivan
