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the next morning—photo
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The One and Only Ivan, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Animal Abuse and Human Cruelty
Kindness
Art and Self-Expression
Memory and Storytelling
Family, Friendship, and Identity
Summary
Analysis
leaving. The next morning, Maya and a bunch of other humans arrive. All of them seem busy. Ruby is the first to get into her box. From inside, she calls to Ivan that she’s scared and doesn’t want to leave him. Ivan knows he can’t tell Ruby that he feels the same way, so he suggests she think of all the stories she can share with her new elephant family. After a long pause, Ruby promises to tell her new family Ivan’s elephant joke about the refrigerator. Ivan suggests that she also tell them about him, Bob, Julia, and Stella. Ruby agrees, and then the humans roll her box out to a truck.
Ruby doesn’t know yet that she can trust these people to do what’s best for her. Instead, she turns to Ivan, who she now sees as a sort of father figure. In this parental role, Ivan has to be careful about how he talks about what’s going to happen—he can’t show Ruby that he’s just as nervous as she is because then, it’ll damage any confidence Ruby might have. Part of being a silverback or a parent, Ivan learns, is acting confident even when he isn’t.
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Now it’s Ivan’s turn. The humans don’t seem to notice Bob hiding in Ivan’s cage, so while they’re busy doing other things, Bob sneaks out to lick Ivan’s chin. Ivan whispers that Bob is “the One and Only Bob,” and he offers him Not-Tag to help him sleep. Bob is confused at first, but then he grabs Not-Tag and returns to his hiding spot.
Calling Bob “The One and Only Bob” is a way for Ivan to show his friend how special he is. And giving Not-Tag to Bob represents several things: it first shows that Ivan wants to help Bob remember him. But it also suggests that Ivan is now okay letting this stand-in for Tag go, and that he can look forward to meeting his new gorilla family at the zoo.
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good boy. Maya tells Ivan “Good boy” as Ivan gets into the box for marshmallows. Once he’s in the box, Maya gives him a drink that tastes like mango, but it’s also bitter. Quickly, Ivan becomes sleepy. He dreams he’s with Tag, swinging on vines while Stella watches.
Ivan’s dream is a total fiction, but it essentially shows all the chapters of Ivan’s life melding together. This indicates that he’s now willing to remember the past and therefore has a better understanding of who he is.
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moving. Ivan’s eyes open briefly. He can feel the box moving “in the grumbling belly of some great beast” before he falls back to sleep.
Not knowing the particulars of the vehicle that’s transporting him only adds to the sense that Ivan is at the mercy of the people at the zoo. He has to trust that this “great beast” isn’t going to destroy him.
Themes
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awakening. When Ivan finally wakes up, he’s in a new cage that’s little different from his old one. It’s just cleaner. Maya greets Ivan as Ivan looks around. There are three glass walls in his cage, and one wall of wooden slats. This doesn’t look like a zoo—there are no gorillas. Ivan is worried for Ruby. She might still be alone and cold in her own cage. Is there anyone with her to tell her stories and help her sleep?
Ivan questions if he made the right decision. He implies that it wouldn’t be so bad if it was just him, but the thought of Ruby being alone is too much for Ivan to bear. He’s worked too hard for her to end up right back where she started.
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missing. Ivan misses his cage, his art, and Bob. His belly is cold now.
Everything that Ivan once used to define himself is gone. Now, he’ll have to rework his identity yet again.
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food. At the zoo, the food is okay—but there’s no soda or cotton candy.
Even the food is different at the zoo, another thing that Ivan is going to have to get used to.
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not famous. Here, Ivan doesn’t get any visitors aside from Maya and her human friends. Maybe Ivan isn’t famous anymore.
Even if Ivan disliked his life at the mall, he did enjoy the attention he got for being famous. It made him feel valuable and needed.
Themes
something in the air. After many days go by, Ivan feels something different in the air. He’s not certain what it is.
Notably, Ivan doesn’t say that this change brings with it the smell of rotting meat, as he did earlier when Ruby arrived at the mall. This offers hope that this change, whatever it is, will be good.
Themes
a new tv. One day, Maya brings Ivan a new, bigger TV. She turns it on with a smile. Ivan hopes it’s going to show him a romance or a Western, but instead, it’s a nature show. There aren’t any human voices or ads; just gorillas playing, eating, and sleeping. Ivan wonders why Mack never showed him this channel.
Though this nature show isn’t what Ivan wanted initially, it still shows him something compelling and entertaining. Wondering why Mack didn’t show him this channel suggests that Ivan understands Mack had choices in how he treated his animals—and he accepts that Mack made poor, cruel decisions.
Themes
the family. Ivan watches the gorillas on TV every day. The family is small and strange: there are only three females and a young male. There’s no silverback to protect them. The family looks content and happy.
It’s interesting that Ivan notes that this gorilla family looks happy, even without a silverback. This offers more credence to the novel’s suggestion that families don’t have to look one certain way to be happy.
Themes
excited. This morning, Maya doesn’t turn on Ivan’s TV. Instead, she and her friends say, “Today’s the day” and act excited. Ivan has never seen humans look so happy. He watches Maya go to the wall of wooden slats and pull a string.
The fact that Ivan hasn’t seen humans look so excited speaks to how dull his life has been for the last 27 years—few humans, it seems, have been happy to make Ivan happy for that long.
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what I see. This reveals gorillas—the gorilla family Ivan has been watching on his TV. But this time, they’re on the other side of the glass, and they’re watching Ivan just like he’s watching them. Ivan sees himself.
At the mall, the glass separated humans from Ivan; now, the glass separates Ivan from others who look just like him. In a way, Ivan is finally seeing what humans see when they watch animals on TV or at zoos.
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still there. Ivan covers his eyes and then looks out again. The gorilla family is still there.
Previously, Ivan was certain that he’d never see another gorilla. But in this moment, he learns that Stella was right—he is seeing another gorilla.
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watching. Ivan spends his days watching the gorilla family through his window. It reminds him of how human visitors used to watch him. He watches the gorillas chase one another, groom one another, and play. They’re graceful like Stella, and they stare at Ivan. Sometimes they point and hoot, and it makes Ivan wonder if they’re as intrigued by him as he is by them.
Letting Ivan watch the gorillas from the other side of the glass gives Ivan the opportunity to learn about this family before actually getting to know them. And it seems like Ivan is having some difficulty communicating with them, if he can’t tell yet whether or not they’re interested in him.
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she. There’s one female that Ivan admires most: Kinyani. She’s fast and smart, and she terrifies Ivan. She’s also “beautiful, like a painting that moves.”
Ivan’s clear interest in Kinyani suggests that Julia’s picture of Ivan with a pretty female gorilla might come true.
Themes
door. This morning, the humans lead Ivan to a door. The other gorillas, including Kinyani, are on the other side. Ivan’s not ready to be a silverback—he’s just Ivan. He decides to try socializing tomorrow.
Ivan seems to imply here that he wasn’t a real silverback when he protected and advocated for Ruby—it’s totally different to be a silverback among other gorillas.
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wondering. All that night, Ivan thinks about Ruby. He wonders if she’s already gone through a door like the one Ivan refused to go through today. Maybe she was scared, like Ivan. Ivan thinks of all the questions Ruby used to ask—and he knows that if she were here, she’d ask what’s on the other side of the door. Ruby is so curious that she’d have already gone through the door.
In this situation, Ivan is able to learn from Ruby in the same way that she learned from him. He realizes that Ruby’s incessant curiosity may have been obnoxious at times, but it also allowed Ruby to experience new, positive things without fear or apprehension.
Themes
ready. The next day, Maya asks Ivan if he wants to try again. Ivan thinks of Ruby and tells himself he can do it as the door opens.
By remembering Ruby and making this choice to step outside, Ivan shows that he’s not going to forget his past anymore—especially not Ruby.
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outside at last. Outside, there’s a sky, grass, sticks, dirt, flowers, and rain. It all belongs to Ivan.
Ivan hasn’t been outside since he was an infant, about 30 years ago. This is all new for him, and it shows Ivan that he was right to trust Maya.
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oops. Ivan approaches the other gorillas and puffs himself up, but they’re not welcoming. Kinyani even chases Ivan, throws a stick at him, and corners him. Ivan knows this is a test of whether he’s a protective silverback, but he cowers anyway. After this, Maya lets Ivan go back into his cage.
Since Ivan hasn’t been around gorillas in decades, he’s not entirely sure how to behave around them. It’s not enough to have the silver patch of fur on his back; being a silverback means knowing how to communicate and behave with these other gorillas.
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what it was like. That night, Ivan lies awake and tries to remember how to be a gorilla. How did he move, and how did he know who was in charge? He tries to think about other things than the babies he held and the clothes he wore. Ivan tries to imagine what he might have been without all that.
This passage indirectly condemns Mack for raising Ivan like a human, rather than like a gorilla. Ivan is having such a hard time integrating into this family because he’s been raised like a person and doesn’t know what to do.
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pretending. When the juvenile male approaches and eyes Ivan’s food, Ivan imagines himself as his father’s son. He grumbles and beats his chest as Kinyani watches. When Ivan steps toward the juvenile, the youngster retreats. It seems like he believes Ivan is actually a silverback—even though Ivan is just pretending.
Ivan doesn’t have to feel like a mighty silverback in order to show others that he is one—at this point, he’s essentially faking it until he makes it. Experiencing success in this interaction builds up Ivan’s confidence that he’ll be able to become a real silverback soon.
Themes
nest. Ivan makes a nest on the ground. His nest isn’t a good one, and the others clearly disapprove—but as Ivan climbs into his nest, he feels like he’s “floating on treetop mist.”
For Ivan, it’s enough to be sleeping in the leaves and twigs—something he hasn’t been able to do for years now. This is a happy return to his past, even if his nest isn’t great.
Themes
more tv. Ivan knows that Maya wants him to go back to his glass cage; she’s left a trail of marshmallows leading inside. Ivan ignores her since he wants to enjoy the beautiful day, but he gives in when Maya adds some yogurt raisins. The TV is on in the cage, showing Ivan another nature show. But instead of gorillas, Ivan hears a “toy trumpet” and sees Ruby on the screen. Ruby rolls in mud with two other baby elephants, while a huge elephant strokes Ruby softly. Ivan sees joy in Ruby’s eyes. Maya plays the video for Ivan several times and then takes the TV away. Ivan puts his hand on the glass and tries to tell Maya “thank you” with his eyes.
It's significant that Maya uses food to coax Ivan back into his cage, rather than forcing him. This highlights just how different Ivan’s life is here than it was at the mall—Mack brought out the claw-stick for Ruby when she refused to do what he wanted. Seeing the footage of Ruby happily playing with other elephants shows Ivan that all the stress and hard work was worth it. He was able to keep his promise to Stella and reconnect with his love of art.
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it. One day, Kinyani comes up to Ivan, taps him on the shoulder, and then runs away. Ivan doesn’t know how to respond. But when Kinyani comes back, shoves Ivan, and then runs away again, Ivan realizes that they’re playing tag.
This is another happy return to the past for Ivan, as he and Tag loved to play tag together. This also offers hope that Ivan and Kinyani’s relationship might grow into something more as Ivan learns to communicate with her better.
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romance. Romance looks easy on TV, but it’s hard in real life. Ivan has to make eye contact, grunt, and throw sticks. He’s not sure he’ll ever be good at it.
All the Westerns and romances that Ivan watched on TV may have warped his understanding of how romance works. This is another way that the novel implicitly condemns Mack, as he’s the one who prevented Ivan from learning how to relate to other gorillas.
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more about romance. Ivan wishes that Bob were here to give him advice. He thinks about all the romance movies he and Bob watched. Ivan isn’t good at romance, but he’s having fun with it anyway.
Ivan seems to be settling into his new life with this gorilla family, though he doesn’t want to forget the past anymore. He now knows that Bob’s friendship will forever influence how he sees the world, for instance.
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grooming. There’s nothing better than another’s touch—especially when she pulls dead bugs out of your fur.
Another gorilla’s touch is what Ivan has been longing for since he was an infant living in Mack’s house. He’s finally happy now that he’s able to live in a more natural habitat among other gorillas.
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talk. Unlike humans, gorillas don’t talk all the time. Sometimes they share stories though, and one day, Ivan tells his troop 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 Ivan’s.
This passage offers the novel’s clearest insistence that sharing one’s story and remembering the past can bring people together. It’s significant that after Ivan shares his story, Kinyani moves closer to him. Their relationship will deepen now that she knows more about who he really is.
Themes
the top of the hill. The only place Ivan hasn’t been in his domain is the top of a hill at one end, where humans have been repairing a wall. Ivan leaves his troop to explore, enjoying his walk in the sunshine. There’s a tree at the top of the hill that Tag would’ve loved. The new wall is clean, white, and seems to go on forever. It’s tall and wide—it’s supposed to keep gorillas in, and humans out, since this is still a cage. It rained last night, so a pile of dirt nearby is soft and muddy. Ivan scoops up a handful and looks at the wall—which seems to wait for him like a blank billboard.
This clean, white wall gives Ivan the opportunity to paint and be creative, without having to worry about tearing his paper or taking great care with his supplies. It may be a part of Ivan’s new cage, but Ivan doesn’t seem so bothered by the fact that he’s living in captivity anymore. Making the wall into something beautiful makes it seem like Ivan is now able to frame his captivity in a different way for himself, one that’s healthier and happier.
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the wall. The wall is big, but that’s okay. Ivan’s dirt pile is big, and he’s a big artist. Ivan makes handprints, nose prints, and spreads mud over the white wall. He’s not sure of what he’s making, but that’s okay—he’s an artist. When he’s done, he steps back to look, but he has to climb the tree to get the best view. The climb is a struggle, but Ivan gets two limbs up and then settles himself. The troop is dozing down the hill, while Ivan’s wall is full of movement. Ivan thinks it looks like something Julia could’ve painted. From the tree, Ivan can see other animals—including elephants.
Ivan’s painting here shows that he’s finally melding his different identities into one. Painting with mud represents a return to his roots—as a baby, his parents called him Mud. The wild, abstract painting looks like something Julia might’ve done, which shows how far Ivan has come with his art. Furthermore, when he realizes that he can see the elephants at the same time as he can see his painting, it reminds him of what his art has already done: it got Ruby to the zoo.
Themes
safe. Ivan can see Ruby, playing in tall grass with other elephants. In a whisper, Ivan tells Stella that Ruby is here—he kept his promise. Ivan calls for Ruby, but he knows she can’t hear him. He sees her pause for a second, though, and then continue through the tall grass.
Seeing Ruby playing with the other elephants firsthand gives Ivan peace of mind that he did the right thing. He was capable of communicating with humans that Ruby deserved better—and now she’s safe.
Themes
silverback. One cloudy, wet evening, Ivan doesn’t care about dinner. Though the troop always sleeps in the den, Ivan has no interest in going inside. There aren’t many visitors at this point in the evening. When Ivan sees one of the keepers calling for him, he turns to go into the den. Then, he sees someone running out of the corner of his eye. It’s 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 chimp. Bob pokes his head out of the backpack and compliments Ivan on the new domain. Ivan can’t form words.
George, Julia, and Bob’s visit brings everything full circle for Ivan. He can see Ruby, and now he has proof that he doesn’t have to worry about ever losing track of his human friends. Put another way, Ivan doesn’t just have a new family of gorillas now that he's at the zoo—he also has the support of his old friends.
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Bob explains that George starts his job at the zoo next month. In the meantime, Julia is walking extra dogs to pay for Bob’s food—all of them poodles. Ivan notes that Bob didn’t want a home, but Bob says Sara likes him. He figures he’s doing Julia’s family a favor. At this point, Julia shoves Bob back into her backpack and reminds him that he’s not supposed to be at the zoo. George notes that Ivan looks strong and happy now, and Julia holds up a small picture. She says it’s of Ruby—Ruby is safe with the other elephants, all because of Ivan. Ivan wants to tell Julia that he already knows, but instead, he and Julia just stare at each other.
Given Bob’s earlier insistence that home wasn’t important, it’s perhaps not surprising that he frames living with Julia’s family as him doing them a favor. It allows Bob to feel like he’s the one in control—even though, as an animal, he depends on his human family to feed and care for him. It’s also significant that George makes a note of how good Ivan looks—this implies that Ivan was in rough shape when he lived at the mall. Exchanging this long look with Julia, meanwhile, suggests that they don’t need language to communicate—they love each other and have bonded over being artists, and that’s all they need.
Themes
Finally, George tells Julia it’s time to go. Julia smiles at Ivan and tells him to say hi to his new family. Then she thanks George for everything. As they turn to leave, Bob sticks his head out of Julia’s backpack and calls that Ivan is “the One and Only Ivan.” Ivan nods, turns toward his new family, and whispers, “Mighty Silverback.”
Now that Ivan has reconnected with Bob, Julia, and George, he feels better about stepping into his new identity as the silverback of his new family. Now, it feels right that he refers to himself as “Mighty Silverback,” which is what used to be on the billboard but didn’t feel appropriate. Ivan is now the gorilla that he was always meant to be.
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