Editor's Choice
In any book about wild animals being kept in a shopping mall, the primary theme has to be animal rights and animal cruelty. This theme is showcased in some of the questions that Ivan the gorilla finds himself asking. He comes to the sad realization that since Mack, a human and his boss, is free to come and go as he pleases, men and gorillas cannot be equal.
A first example of this theme is that, together with the other animals at the Big Top Mall, Ivan is expected to entertain mall visitors every single day by performing tricks. There are a number of other examples of animals who have been mistreated. These include Stella, who is an elephant who injured her foot earlier when performing in a circus. Another elephant, Ruby, has been chained to the floor almost all the time. Bob, who is a dog and Ivan’s good...
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friend, was thrown out of of a truck by a human when he was a puppy. These memories have formed a big part of who Bob is, and he naturally does not trust humans.
The methods used to train Ruby include the use of a claw stick. Cruelty turns to tragedy when Stella dies. Her death is a pivotal moment, because is the moment at which Ivan rises to a significant and life-changing challenge—getting Ruby out of there.
The major theme of The One and Only Ivan is animal rights, specifically the right of captive animals to retain some measure of their autonomy. The book explores the issue of animal confinement and its consequences through a touching story about Ivan (a silver-back gorilla) and his animal friends at the Big Top Mall.
Ivan and the animals have to perform for human audiences every day. Besides his show duties, Ivan also draws. His crayon-infused paintings sell at the mall's gift shop for twenty dollars a piece (twenty-five dollars with a frame). During his free time, Ivan watches TV with his friend Bob, who is a dog. Ivan muses that he has been in captivity for nine thousand eight hundred and fifty-five days. At night, he sleeps alone in his cage; there is no where else to go.
Ivan sometimes wonders if there are other gorillas out there like him. Stella (an elephant) assures him that he will see others in due time. Soon, Mack (the owner of the mall) purchases Ruby (a baby elephant) from a circus. Stella tells Ivan that Ruby's trainers chained her to the floor for twenty-three hours every day. As the novel progresses, we begin to see the suffering endured by animals in captivity. Gently, the author invites us to explore the ethical implications of separating animals from their natural habitats.
Humans are not complete villains in the story, however. Ruby tells Ivan and the other animals that, although it was "bad humans" who killed her family and sold her to Mack, "good humans" saved her when she fell into a hole in the ground. The story ends with Ivan and Ruby relocated to a zoo, where both animals can live with their own species in surroundings more suited to their inclinations.
Since he has been confined to a cage for years, Ivan initially finds it a challenge to interact comfortably with the rest of his peers. In due time, however, he begins to develop a rapport with the other gorillas. Ivan knows that he still lives in a cage, but in this one, he can move freely and interact comfortably with his gorilla peers. He is no longer lonely and afraid for his future.
the major theme of the story is animal rights, specifically the right of animals to retain some measure of their autonomy.