The One and Only Ivan Themes

Ivan is in one long identity crisis in The One and Only Ivan, confused about who he is because he hasn't really lived the life of a gorilla, and instead spends his days in captivity with little mor...

In The One and Only Ivan, animals represent the natural world, and humans represent, well, humans and the ways in which they relate to the natural world. Some of them majorly mess with the natural...

In The One and Only Ivan, Ivan claims that forgetting about the life he led in the wild is key to his contentment. On the flip side, Stella remembers every moment since she was born and is quite at...

The Big Top Mall and Video Arcade is no place for animals—nonetheless a gorilla and a couple of elephants—but it's where Ivan and his pals find themselves locked up in The One and Only Ivan. He...

Question: What is home? Is it the place where you're born? Because if so, then home is an experience that the animals in The One and Only Ivan can never return to. Is home wherever you happen to re...

We wouldn't begrudge Ivan a bit of boredom after twenty-seven years in captivity, but our main ape in The One and Only Ivan refuses to succumb to such a fate. In fact, Ivan claims he is never bored...

If The One and Only Ivan concerns itself with anything, Shmoopers, it's animal rights. Strip away the art and the philosophy, the friendships and the dazzling crusades for freedom, and what lies at...