Previous
Madeleine “Maddie” Joyce
Mr. Canton is the vice principal of Eastham Middle School, where Jack Hurd and his foster brother, Joseph Brook, attend school. Mr. Canton is prejudiced against Joseph because Joseph came to his foster family, the Hurds, from a high-security juvenile facility called Stone Mountain. He blames Joseph any time Jack gets in trouble and warns Jack to distance himself from his foster brother. Jack’s insistence on befriending Joseph despite Mr. Canton’s warnings shows that naïve, 12-year-old Jack has better moral instincts than some of the prejudiced adults around him.
Mr. Canton Quotes in Orbiting Jupiter
The Orbiting Jupiter quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Canton or refer to Mr. Canton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
“I respect your parents, I really do. They’re trying to make a difference in the world, bringing kids like Joseph Brook into a normal family. But kids like Joseph Brook aren’t always normal, see? They act the way they do because their brains work differently. They don’t think like you and I think. So they can do things . . .”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2
Quotes
“He came onto the ice for me,” said Joseph.
My father turned his face slowly toward Joseph. “That’s what we’ll be talking about,” he said.
Chapter 3
Quotes
“Being responsible,” Mr. Canton said, “means being ready to do what you’re supposed to be doing, even if no one is watching or making you do it. Do you boys understand that?”
“Joseph,” she said, “we began poorly. Shall we try again?”
Chapter 4
Quotes
“I’m alone,” he said.
“You’ve got me,” I said.
He laughed, but not a happy laugh. “Jackie, I’m a whole lifetime ahead of you,” he said.
Chapter 5
Quotes
“You might get suspended for fighting. All because you were hanging around Joseph Brook. I’m telling you, I know his type. Trouble follows him like a yellow dog.”
“I’ve seen what happens to yellow dogs,” I said.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Would you have left a guy being beat up to go find a teacher?” I asked.
My father, he wiped his hand across his face, and what was left behind was a smile.
Really, a smile.
“Not in a million years,” he said.
Chapter 7
Quotes
Mr. Canton had already come by, so full of himself, my mother said, all about how he knew something like this would happen, and kids who come from Stone Mountain are bound to run off, and it’s not our fault, it’s just that’s who Joseph Brook is.
Get the entire Orbiting Jupiter LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mr. Canton Quotes in Orbiting Jupiter
The Orbiting Jupiter quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Canton or refer to Mr. Canton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
“I respect your parents, I really do. They’re trying to make a difference in the world, bringing kids like Joseph Brook into a normal family. But kids like Joseph Brook aren’t always normal, see? They act the way they do because their brains work differently. They don’t think like you and I think. So they can do things . . .”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2
Quotes
“He came onto the ice for me,” said Joseph.
My father turned his face slowly toward Joseph. “That’s what we’ll be talking about,” he said.
Chapter 3
Quotes
“Being responsible,” Mr. Canton said, “means being ready to do what you’re supposed to be doing, even if no one is watching or making you do it. Do you boys understand that?”
“Joseph,” she said, “we began poorly. Shall we try again?”
Chapter 4
Quotes
“I’m alone,” he said.
“You’ve got me,” I said.
He laughed, but not a happy laugh. “Jackie, I’m a whole lifetime ahead of you,” he said.
Chapter 5
Quotes
“You might get suspended for fighting. All because you were hanging around Joseph Brook. I’m telling you, I know his type. Trouble follows him like a yellow dog.”
“I’ve seen what happens to yellow dogs,” I said.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Would you have left a guy being beat up to go find a teacher?” I asked.
My father, he wiped his hand across his face, and what was left behind was a smile.
Really, a smile.
“Not in a million years,” he said.
Chapter 7
Quotes
Mr. Canton had already come by, so full of himself, my mother said, all about how he knew something like this would happen, and kids who come from Stone Mountain are bound to run off, and it’s not our fault, it’s just that’s who Joseph Brook is.
