Silverback gorilla angry8/15/2023 ![]() ![]() Mack sells Ivan’s drawings for $20 apiece. Ivan draws the things in his cage: apple cores, candy wrappers. Julia was also the first person to slip Ivan a crayon and slip of paper through a crack in the glass. He named it after his twin sister Tag, calling the toy Not-Tag. The mall cleaner’s daughter Julia gave Ivan a stuffed toy gorilla he sleeps with each night. Ivan says that humans come and leave fingerprints on his glass wall: he presses his nose on the other side, and it is the only print. Ivan believes humans are clever, but poor hunters. No matter how full the bags, they always come back for more-an observation that touches on the theme of human greed. After watching the show, Ivan watches humans hunt frantically through the mall, clutching bags full of things. He says this is wrong, because he is never angry: silverbacks only use anger to warn their troop of danger, and in his domain there is no one to protect.Įvery day Mack, dressed like a clown, leads the other circus animals through trick routines. The billboard for the arcade depicts Ivan with his mouth open, as if letting out a ferocious growl. He describes his glass-enclosed domain, beyond which he can see the flashing arcade lights and cars moving down the freeway. Mack is his human boss, while Stella, an elephant, and Bob, a dog, are his dearest friends. Ivan introduces the other characters that live or work at Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. He is a great ape, a distant and distrustful cousin to humans. He says humans don’t think gorillas can understand words, but, through patience, he has learned to understand human speech. ![]() He is a silverback gorilla who lives in captivity at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. At the zoo, Ivan finally feels like he’s become what he’s supposed to be: a silverback with a family to protect.Narrated from the first-person perspective of Ivan, the novel’s protagonist, The One and Only Ivanopens with Ivan introducing himself. Ultimately, Ivan’s plan to rescue Ruby by painting a billboard of her is successful: both he and Ruby are transferred to the local zoo, where Ivan is introduced to the other gorillas there and even falls in love with a gorilla named Kinyani. Tag died, but Mack adopted Ivan and raised him in his home until Ivan became too big. Life was idyllic until humans killed Ivan’s mother and father and captured Ivan and Tag. His parents called him “Mud” because he loved to paint with mud. Ivan reveals that he grew up with his parents and his twin sister, Tag. Second, Ivan begins to remember his past and tells Ruby about it. This causes two changes in Ivan: first, he begins to paint a billboard-sized painting of Ruby at the local zoo, which he hopes will convince humans to help Ruby. When Stella dies not long after, she asks Ivan to promise to help Ruby lead a better life. But this begins to change when the mall’s owner, Mack, purchases a baby elephant, Ruby, to reinvigorate the mall and its thrice daily, circus style show. At first, Ivan insists that he doesn’t remember anything before coming to live in the Big Top Mall. In the evenings, the cleaner George’s daughter, Julia, sits near Ivan’s domain and they draw together-she’s an artist too, so she and Ivan have a special bond. Ivan spends his days eating, drawing, and watching TV. Ivan’s chosen family consists of an old elephant named Stella and a tiny dog named Bob, who sleeps on Ivan’s belly. Like most gorillas, Ivan is peaceful, kind, and protective of those he loves. Though the billboard advertising Ivan as a tourist attraction portrays Ivan as a fearsome creature, Ivan is actually anything but. For the last 27 years, he’s lived in a glass and concrete cage (which he calls his “domain”) in a shopping mall. The protagonist of the novel, Ivan is a silverback gorilla who’s about 30 years old. ![]()
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