Ruby, for her part, firmly believes that there are both good and bad humans in the world. However, the novel also shows that humans can be “unpredictable,” as Stella says-their kindness can sometimes be surprising. This stems from the fact that Bob and his siblings were tossed onto the freeway when they were tiny puppies-in Bob’s experience, humans aren’t good or capable of kindness at all, and he avoids them whenever possible. Bob also engages in a similar thought process: he insists that humans are, on the whole, horrible beings who do terrible things to animals. This also means that Ivan isn’t going to get Ruby’s hopes up too much and disappoint her when he believes he’ll ultimately fail, something that he frames as a kindness to her. For Ivan, it seems easier to cope with the emotional pain of giving up without trying than to deal with the pain of trying and potentially failing to save her. But later, as Bob (a stray dog) asks Ivan what he’s going to do to make this happen, Ivan insists that saving Ruby is impossible. Ivan, for instance, is willing to promise Stella on her deathbed that he’ll look out for Ruby and try to give her a better life. Nevertheless, the novel suggests that it’s still important to be kind and to trust and acknowledge kindness in others, as this is one of the only ways people (and animals) can improve their lives.įirst, the novel makes it clear that a cynical outlook can sometimes be a way for beings to protect themselves from emotional pain. Through this, The One and Only Ivan acknowledges that being kind isn’t always easy-a cynical outlook is, in some cases, emotionally easier. In addition, as Ivan embarks on his quest to get Ruby removed from the Big Top Mall and into a zoo, he realizes that one of the kindest things he can do for Ruby is to be honest with her about their circumstances-even if doing so is emotionally painful. And both Ivan (a gorilla) and Stella (an elephant) describe zoos as places “where humans make amends,” presumably for other humans’ cruel, inhumane behavior. The baby elephant Ruby, for instance, acknowledges that bad humans killed her family and captured her-but she also feels extremely grateful to the kind humans who rescued her from a hole filled with water before she was captured. Though the animal characters in The One and Only Ivan describe the various cruelties they’ve experienced at human hands, they also highlight the times when humans have been surprisingly kind.

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