The One and Only Ivan

by

Katherine Applegate

Snickers Character Analysis

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:
Animal Abuse and Human Cruelty Theme Icon
).
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.

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

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:
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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:
Animal Abuse and Human Cruelty Theme Icon
).
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.

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

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: