47 pages • 1 hour read
Katherine ApplegateThe One and Only Ruby
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Suffering of Animals
The suffering of animals is a recurring motif that connects to the theme of Animal Cruelty and Exploitation. Ruby suffers repeatedly as a young elephant; her mother is cruelly murdered in front of her for her tusks. The crack of the poacher’s gun is compared to “a crack of thunder […] a rock split in two […] a heart breaking” (102). Katherine Applegate combines literal and metaphorical language to describe both the violence of the sound of the gunshot, as well as Ruby’s devastation at her mother’s death.
Even in the months prior to Ruby’s mother’s death, humans inflict suffering on elephants, albeit more indirectly, by causing climate change that makes the savanna dry and inhospitable. In her Author’s Note, Applegate suggests that global warming “continues to shrink available resources” (213) for elephants and other animals. This phenomenon is symbolized in the novel by the fires that burn across the savanna as Ruby’s Grandmama tries to lead the herd to water: “Now, [Grandmama] said, with the world so dry and the sun so hot, she was certain this wouldn’t be the last smoke I smelled” (87).
Ruby’s suffering continues when the elephant orphanage is burned down and she is taken on a ship, sold to a circus, and then sold to the owners of the mall where she lives with Stella and Ivan. In the mall, Ruby, Stella, and Ivan live in pitiable conditions for the entertainment of passing humans. Applegate uses the motif of animal suffering to pose questions about what humans owe to the natural world, and how to treat (or not to treat) animals.
Ruby’s Decision to Reenter the Enclosure
Aunt Akello loosens the fencing when Ruby gets caught in the hole in the fence, which allows Ruby to either step back into the elephant enclosure for her Tuskday ceremony, or to escape. Ruby’s Coming of Age is showcased in her decision to step back into the enclosure and attend her Tuskday ceremony.
In attending her Tuskday, Ruby must confront her grief over Stella’s death: “Aunt Stella wanted to be part of a herd one more time. I wish…I wish she could be here today” (190). She stumbles when she says this, illustrating the fact that it pains her to talk about Stella and to acknowledge the untimely tragedy of her death, which came before she could join the herd in the park.
Ruby also has to confront her mixed feelings about growing tusks. For Ruby, Tuskday simultaneously feels like a fuss about nothing and a momentous moment linked to tragedy, both the tragedy of her mother’s death and the tragedy of ivory poaching more generally: “Tusks mean very little when you’re a captive elephant, and they mean too much—even death—when you’re wild” (200). Ruby learns that being an adult doesn’t necessarily mean having the answer to everything; just as Aunt Stella couldn’t explain why they’d ended up in the mall, Aunt Akello struggles with traumatic memories of family members killed for their tusks, while at the same time lovingly leading her herd in the sanctuary. Following her example, Ruby learns to pay respect to lost loved ones, while also feeling immense gratitude for the chosen family she does have.
Bob, Ivan, and Ruby Share Stories About Stella
Near the novel’s conclusion, Bob, Ivan, and Ruby exchange stories about Stella. This is a significant change from the beginning of the novel, when the group avoids mentioning Stella’s name, instead carrying their grief privately and alone. Despite Bob urging Ivan and Ruby to talk about Stella—“Stella was a great gal. It’s good to talk about the folks you miss” (35)—Ivan and Ruby usually avoid discussing her. Ruby recalls a time when she and Bob were talking about Stella: “Uncle Ivan held up his hand, his eyes filled with pain. ‘I can’t,’ he whispered. ‘I just can’t seem to talk about her’” (34). Forced to stay silent about her grief, Ruby feels that “Aunt Stella’s memory is like a different kind of shadow, following [her] day and night” (33).
At Ruby’s Tuskday, she admits haltingly: “Aunt Stella wanted to be part of a herd one more time. I wish…I wish she could be here today” (190). At the novel’s conclusion, Ivan, Bob, and Ruby gather, “sharing Aunt Stella stories until the sun begins to set” (208). They are able to talk about Stella because of the example Ruby set in opening up about her past, first during her recollections to her uncles, and then during her Tuskday ceremony. Her bravery in talking about Aunt Stella plays a significant role in Ruby’s Coming of Age. In opening up about a painful subject, she and Ivan can begin to confront their grief for Stella, and to move toward a place of peace and acceptance by commemorating Stella collectively, rather than mourning her absence individually.
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