The One and Only Ivan

by

Katherine Applegate

Ruby Character Analysis

Ruby is a baby elephant whom Mack purchases to try to reinvigorate the Big Top Mall’s daily shows. Ruby is inquisitive—she asks questions constantly—and very stubborn. She loves telling and listening to stories, and she also loves jokes. Mack purchases Ruby from a bankrupt circus and, over the course of her time at the mall, she shares her story with Ivan and Stella. Like Ivan and Stella, she was born in the wild and was then captured. She explains that “bad humans” captured her and killed her family—but she also tells Ivan and Bob about a time when she fell into a deep pit, and good humans rescued her and then helped her find her family again. While she was at the circus, trainers kept Ruby chained to the floor for 23 hours per day, which Stella explains to Ivan was intended to break Ruby’s spirit. When Stella dies, it devastates Ruby. Ivan does his best to comfort Ruby and try to entertain her—and he promises Stella right before her death that he’ll do what he can to give Ruby a better life. It’s not until Ivan sees Mack using a claw-stick to train Ruby that he grasps how essential it is that he follow through on his promise to Stella. To try to save her, Ivan paints a huge painting of Ruby at the local zoo with other elephants. Weeks after George and Julia put Ivan’s painting on the billboard, a woman from the zoo named Maya comes to take Ruby and Ivan to the zoo. Ruby is initially hesitant to go, as she insists that the mall is her home and Ivan and Bob are her family. But Ivan assures Ruby that Stella would’ve wanted her to go to the zoo. Not long after Ivan and Ruby move to the zoo, Maya shows Ivan a video of Ruby playing with other baby elephants in her new domain. She looks happier than Ivan has ever seen her.

Ruby Quotes in The One and Only Ivan

The The One and Only Ivan quotes below are all either spoken by Ruby or refer to Ruby. 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:
Animal Abuse and Human Cruelty Theme Icon
).
hello—the littlest big top on earth Quotes

Anger is precious. A silverback uses anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger. When my father beat his chest, it was to say, Beware, listen, I am in charge. I am angry to protect you, because that is what I was born to do.

Here in my domain, there is no one to protect.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Ivan’s Father
Related Symbols: The Billboard
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:
change—worry Quotes

“A good zoo,” Stella says, “is a large domain. A wild cage. A safe place to be. It has room to roam and humans who don’t hurt.” She pauses, considering her words. “A good zoo is how humans make amends.”

Related Characters: Stella (speaker), Ivan, Ruby, Bob, Mack, Maya/The Woman
Related Symbols: The Claw-Stick
Page Number: 64
Explanation and Analysis:

“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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Stella (speaker), Ruby, Mack, Snickers
Page Number: 78
Explanation and Analysis:

“Why do you love [drawing]?” Ruby asks.

I pause. I’ve never talked to anyone about this before. “When I’m drawing a picture, I feel…quiet inside.”

Ruby frowns. “Quiet is boring.”

“Not always.”

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Ruby (speaker)
Page Number: 86
Explanation and Analysis:

“Bad humans killed my family, and bad humans sent me here. But that day in the hole, it was humans who saved me.” Ruby leans her head on Stella’s shoulder. “Those humans were good.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Bob says. “I just don’t understand them. I never will.”

“You’re not alone,” I say, and I turn my gaze back to the racing gray clouds.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Bob (speaker), Stella, Mack, Julia
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
a new beginning—another ivan Quotes

“Do you think,” she asks, “that I’ll die in this domain someday, like Aunt Stella?”

Once again I consider lying, but when I look at Ruby, the half-formed words die in my throat. “Not if I can help it,” I say instead.

I feel something tighten in my chest, something dark and hot. “And it’s not a domain,” I add.

I pause, and then I say it. “It’s a cage.”

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Stella, Stella
Page Number: 165
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Stella, Mack, George
Related Symbols: The Billboard
Page Number: 173
Explanation and Analysis:
days—finally Quotes

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Mack (speaker), Mack (speaker), Ruby, Ruby
Related Symbols: The TV, The Claw-Stick
Page Number: 183
Explanation and Analysis:

It’s different now, when I paint.

I’m not painting what I see in front of me. A banana. An apple. I’m painting what I see in my head. Things that don’t exist.

At least, not yet.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Mack, Mack, Julia, Julia
Page Number: 188
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Stella, Stella, Mack, Mack, Snickers, Snickers
Related Symbols: The Claw-Stick
Page Number: 193
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Mack, Mack, Julia, Julia, George, George
Related Symbols: The Billboard
Page Number: 200
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Julia, Julia, George, George
Page Number: 208
Explanation and Analysis:
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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Bob, Bob, Mack, Mack, Julia, Julia, George, George
Related Symbols: The Billboard, The Claw-Stick, The TV
Page Number: 230
Explanation and Analysis:

She starts to leave, then runs back to my cage. “I almost forgot. This is for you, Ivan.”

She slips a piece of paper into my cage. It’s a drawing of Ruby and me.

We’re eating yogurt raisins. Ruby is playing with another baby elephant, and I’m holding hands with a lovely gorilla.

She has red lips and a flower in her hair.

I look, as I always do in Julia’s pictures, like an elegant fellow, but something is different about this drawing.

In this picture, I am smiling.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Julia (speaker), Julia (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Kinyani, Kinyani
Related Symbols: The Billboard
Page Number: 247-48
Explanation and Analysis:

“Do you think the other gorillas will like you?” Ruby asks.

“I’m a silverback, Ruby. A leader.” I pull back my shoulders and hold my head high. “They don’t have to like me. They have to respect me.”

Even as I tell her this, I wonder if I can ever command their respect.

I haven’t had much practice being a real gorilla, much less a silverback.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Stella, Mack
Page Number: 252
Explanation and Analysis:
leaving—mighty silverback Quotes

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Maya/The Woman, Maya/The Woman
Related Symbols: The TV
Page Number: 283
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The One and Only Ivan LitChart as a printable PDF.
The One and Only Ivan PDF

Ruby Quotes in The One and Only Ivan

The The One and Only Ivan quotes below are all either spoken by Ruby or refer to Ruby. 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:
Animal Abuse and Human Cruelty Theme Icon
).
hello—the littlest big top on earth Quotes

Anger is precious. A silverback uses anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger. When my father beat his chest, it was to say, Beware, listen, I am in charge. I am angry to protect you, because that is what I was born to do.

Here in my domain, there is no one to protect.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Ivan’s Father
Related Symbols: The Billboard
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:
change—worry Quotes

“A good zoo,” Stella says, “is a large domain. A wild cage. A safe place to be. It has room to roam and humans who don’t hurt.” She pauses, considering her words. “A good zoo is how humans make amends.”

Related Characters: Stella (speaker), Ivan, Ruby, Bob, Mack, Maya/The Woman
Related Symbols: The Claw-Stick
Page Number: 64
Explanation and Analysis:

“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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Stella (speaker), Ruby, Mack, Snickers
Page Number: 78
Explanation and Analysis:

“Why do you love [drawing]?” Ruby asks.

I pause. I’ve never talked to anyone about this before. “When I’m drawing a picture, I feel…quiet inside.”

Ruby frowns. “Quiet is boring.”

“Not always.”

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Ruby (speaker)
Page Number: 86
Explanation and Analysis:

“Bad humans killed my family, and bad humans sent me here. But that day in the hole, it was humans who saved me.” Ruby leans her head on Stella’s shoulder. “Those humans were good.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Bob says. “I just don’t understand them. I never will.”

“You’re not alone,” I say, and I turn my gaze back to the racing gray clouds.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Bob (speaker), Stella, Mack, Julia
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
a new beginning—another ivan Quotes

“Do you think,” she asks, “that I’ll die in this domain someday, like Aunt Stella?”

Once again I consider lying, but when I look at Ruby, the half-formed words die in my throat. “Not if I can help it,” I say instead.

I feel something tighten in my chest, something dark and hot. “And it’s not a domain,” I add.

I pause, and then I say it. “It’s a cage.”

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Stella, Stella
Page Number: 165
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Stella, Mack, George
Related Symbols: The Billboard
Page Number: 173
Explanation and Analysis:
days—finally Quotes

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Mack (speaker), Mack (speaker), Ruby, Ruby
Related Symbols: The TV, The Claw-Stick
Page Number: 183
Explanation and Analysis:

It’s different now, when I paint.

I’m not painting what I see in front of me. A banana. An apple. I’m painting what I see in my head. Things that don’t exist.

At least, not yet.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Mack, Mack, Julia, Julia
Page Number: 188
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Stella, Stella, Mack, Mack, Snickers, Snickers
Related Symbols: The Claw-Stick
Page Number: 193
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Mack, Mack, Julia, Julia, George, George
Related Symbols: The Billboard
Page Number: 200
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Julia, Julia, George, George
Page Number: 208
Explanation and Analysis:
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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Bob, Bob, Mack, Mack, Julia, Julia, George, George
Related Symbols: The Billboard, The Claw-Stick, The TV
Page Number: 230
Explanation and Analysis:

She starts to leave, then runs back to my cage. “I almost forgot. This is for you, Ivan.”

She slips a piece of paper into my cage. It’s a drawing of Ruby and me.

We’re eating yogurt raisins. Ruby is playing with another baby elephant, and I’m holding hands with a lovely gorilla.

She has red lips and a flower in her hair.

I look, as I always do in Julia’s pictures, like an elegant fellow, but something is different about this drawing.

In this picture, I am smiling.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Julia (speaker), Julia (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Kinyani, Kinyani
Related Symbols: The Billboard
Page Number: 247-48
Explanation and Analysis:

“Do you think the other gorillas will like you?” Ruby asks.

“I’m a silverback, Ruby. A leader.” I pull back my shoulders and hold my head high. “They don’t have to like me. They have to respect me.”

Even as I tell her this, I wonder if I can ever command their respect.

I haven’t had much practice being a real gorilla, much less a silverback.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ruby (speaker), Stella, Mack
Page Number: 252
Explanation and Analysis:
leaving—mighty silverback Quotes

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.

Related Characters: Ivan (speaker), Ivan (speaker), Ruby, Ruby, Maya/The Woman, Maya/The Woman
Related Symbols: The TV
Page Number: 283
Explanation and Analysis: