Memory (Motif)
The motif of memory recurs throughout The One and Only Ivan. Early in the book, Ivan comments on how gorillas have a poor memory while Stella, as an elephant, has an excellent memory. Stella disagrees: she tells Ivan there is a difference between not being able to remember and not wanting to remember. Stella's statement turns out to be true: once Ivan has to console Ruby, he finds that he is able to tell the story of his origins. He later remembers more traumatic details that he repressed, such as how his parents were killed and dismembered during his capture, and how his sister died in transit. Ultimately, his memory serves him well: by remembering the zoo logo from TV and the human letters needed to spell "home," Ivan manages to save Ruby and himself from their life of mistreatment.
Claw Stick (Symbol)
The claw stick—a pole with a sharp silver hook on its end—that Mack uses to intimidate and threaten Ruby into performing represents the novel's thematic concern with animal mistreatment. While the claw stick enables Mack to wield control over Ruby, it also spells his downfall: after the media shines its spotlight on his circus and broadcasts images of the weapon-like claw stick, people decry Mack's animal mistreatment and manage to shut down his circus.
Stella's Infected Foot (Symbol)
Similar to the claw stick, Stella the elephant's infected foot is symbolic of the neglect and mistreatment to which Mack subjects his animals. Even though George calls Mack's attention to Stella's foot and her weakening condition, Mack downplays the severity of her injury and insists there's no money in the budget to get her medical attention for something minor.
Ivan Adopting Human Habits (Motif)
As Ivan recounts how Mack and Helen raised him in their home, he comments on how he was made to wear diapers and fed human junk food. He also watches TV and acquires an ability to understand human speech and make art with human crayons and finger paints. While Ivan thinks little of how unnatural his accrual of human habits is, it leads to conflict for Ivan when it is time to reintegrate into gorilla society. He must unlearn his human ways and relearn how to behave as the leader of a gorilla troop.
Loneliness (Motif)
The motif of loneliness recurs throughout the novel as a symptom of isolation. Ivan is not quite aware of how lonely he is, but he sees how sad he looks in Julia's drawings, and he recounts how a boy once said he must be the loneliest gorilla in the world. Julia, similarly, is lonely as she works on her homework next to Ivan's cage, and the two characters are able to form a bond of compromised comfort through the glass. Loneliness also negatively impacts Mack's mental health: after his wife Helen leaves him, Mack turns to drinking and mistreating his animals.
