The One and Only Family

Ivan joins Bob and Ruby at Canine Corner for a chat, needing a break from his responsibilities. He tells them about Raji’s questions and that he skirted the truth. Bob makes a show of chewing his tail. It’s clear that he’s deciding on a response. Ivan thinks, “[S]omehow, I have the feeling I don’t want to hear what he has to say” (196).

Bob points out that Ivan is dependent on humans at the zoo and that this won’t change; he’s overheard his humans talking about how there aren’t a lot of wild places left. He tries to offer advice based on what he’s told his nephew. Ivan cuts him off because nephews aren’t the same as one’s actual children. Bob disagrees. He loves his nephew as if the pup were his own. He says, “[Y]ou don’t have to give birth to care for little ones” (201).

When Ivan returns to his troop, they’ve begun their evening forage for surprises left by the humans. One of the other adults tells Ivan that the younger males had another spat but worked it out. She’s annoyed at the male who started it because he always seems grumpy. Like Ivan, this male lost his family to poachers. When Ivan points out that the male’s had a tough time, the other adult says that they’ve all had rough times. Ivan sighs because “the only thing [he] can do is nod” (204).

Kinyani and Tuma are released a few days later, all better. Kinyani is glad that the humans were there to help, but Ivan isn’t so sure. He’s distracted by the twins latching onto his legs and shouting for him to bring them to see Bob at Canine Corner. Ivan agrees and lumbers that way, “[his] adorable burdens laughing as we go” (206).

Bob is excited to see the twins, calling them “double trouble.” The twins ask Bob if he met their dad in Africa. Bob looks at Ivan, unsure of how to answer. Ivan hopes that his look conveys that “[he] ha[s] no desire to talk about the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Ever” (209). As Ivan’s done many times, Bob changes the subject and leaves to get out of answering.

Tuma points out the “safe place,” a little hut that he’s made out of sticks as practice in case he becomes the silverback one day. Ivan is both proud and sad about Tuma being so much like him. He tells the children that they don’t need to worry about protecting the troop like that and hugs them tightly. When they yell for him to let go, Ivan is “not sure [he] can” (213).

Ivan chats with the younger male who also lost his family to poachers. The male heard about the documentary of Ivan’s family that’s showing that night and hopes that it ends well because “stories are supposed to have happy endings” (215). Ivan also likes happy endings, but he realizes that not all stories end that way.

That night, Ivan tries to remember his past. Though he strains, he only has glimpses. He’s dismayed to find that “[he] do[es]n’t remember [his] mother’s name. Or [his] father’s” (217).

Ivan and Kinyani didn’t name the twins. Rather, the humans held a contest and awarded them the winning names. The first time the humans called the twins by those names, Ivan had a fit because the humans shouldn’t have gotten to name his children. After a while, he and Kinyani started using the human names in “a compromise between being free and being captive” (221).

Ivan and his family settle down to watch the documentary, which he expects is about the twins. Instead, the documentary starts with pictures from Ivan’s childhood when he was treated like a human baby. He cannot believe that the zoo is showing “[his] past, there for all to see” (224).

The twins think that the images are hilarious until the documentary narrator says Ivan’s name. When they ask Ivan if that’s him, Ivan “can’t bring [him]self to look at the twins” (226).

Ivan feels ashamed of what the documentary shows, even though he knows that none of it was his fault. When he can’t watch anymore, he goes for a walk, morosely reflecting that “some stories should never be told” (229).

As Ivan walks, he thinks, “[I]f my father had been better at his job, none of this would have happened” (230). Right after he thinks this, he realizes that it’s no more his father’s fault than his own.

Like a nightmare, the documentary keeps showing images of Ivan’s past. In all of them, he is cute but also “deeply, terribly sad” (231).

The film shows Ivan’s past in the wild. Ivan runs and hides as he remembers what happened and the narrator announces that Ivan “will never be free again” (232).

Suddenly, Ivan realizes that his children are seeing the documentary and also that he’s lost track of Raji, who followed him. He yells for her, growing frantic when she doesn’t answer because “a silverback protects” (234).

Ivan hears Raji’s voice, which triggers a strong sense of protection that “pounds in [his] veins like the music throbbing from the movie” (235).

Raji is in the arms of a human child whom Ivan recognizes. The boy’s forehead is bleeding from falling into the gorilla enclosure, but Ivan doesn’t care because “[his] only job is to protect [his] daughter” (237).

The grumpy younger male also notices Raji’s situation and grabs the human boy’s arm. The human cries out, and Ivan wonders if he should stop the male “or [] let him hurt that child” (239).

A crowd of humans starts to gather. The younger male looks to Ivan, still gripping the boy. Ivan reminds himself, “A silverback leads. A silverback protects” (240).

The humans yell for the boy to stay still, run, and be calm. Maya’s voice breaks through the noise, telling someone not to shoot. Ivan looks up at a man holding a gun pointed at the male gorilla standing over the boy who holds Ivan’s daughter. Ivan is terrified because “[he’s] seen what guns can do” (242).

The younger male’s eyes are full of sadness and hatred for the human child. Suddenly, Ivan remembers his father’s third rule: “A silverback loves” (244). He tells the younger male that he understands.

The male hesitates but releases the boy. Raji jumps free and scrambles up the nearby rocks. As the humans cheer, Raji asks Ivan for a Pop Drop. Ivan holds out his arms and catches her “like [he] always do[es]” (246).

That night, Tuma has questions about the movie. Ivan promises to answer them, and if he doesn’t have answers, “[they]’ll find them together” (248).

Ivan realizes that, despite trying to hide it, his story has come out. Rather than feeling upset, he is at peace. He finally realizes that stories can’t be sent away and that “you can’t cage hope” (249).

A week after the documentary incident, it’s Ivan’s birthday. All his human and animal friends gather at Canine Corner to celebrate. Ivan lists them, ending with “Bob, of course. Always and forever, Bob” (253).

Ivan learns that the names of his children mean “hope,” which he loves. After pretending to blow out the candles on the cake that one of the humans made, he splits the cookie atop the cake in half and gives a piece to each twin. After everything, Ivan realizes that no one asked what he wished for, but that’s okay because “[he] think[s] they all know” (254).