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Joseph Brook
Mr. Hurd is an organic father who lives in Maine with his wife, Mrs. Hurd, and his 12-year-old son, Jack Hurd. They agree to foster 14-year-old Joseph Brook when social worker Mrs. Stroud approaches them about him. Mr. Hurd is a firm but loving father: he tries to teach Jack and Joseph responsibility, bravery, and kindness. He also models selflessness for them: when Joseph’s father, Mr. Brook, accuses the Hurds of fostering Joseph so they can get a check from the government, Mr. Hurd reveals that they have been putting all the checks they receive into a college fund for Joseph, paying for Joseph’s care out of their own pocket. Though Mr. Hurd believes that Joseph isn’t old enough to parent his baby daughter Jupiter, he and Mrs. Hurd ultimately decide to adopt Jupiter so that Joseph can live in the same household with her. When Joseph’s abusive father Mr. Brook kills Joseph in a car accident, the Hurds go through with the adoption, showing their love for Joseph and feelings of responsibility toward his daughter.
Mr. Hurd Quotes in Orbiting Jupiter
The Orbiting Jupiter quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Hurd or refer to Mr. Hurd. 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
They sent Joseph to Stone Mountain, even though he did what he did because the kid gave him something bad and he swallowed it. But that didn’t matter. They sent him to Stone Mountain anyway.
He won’t talk about what happened to him there. But since he left Stone Mountain, he won’t wear anything orange.
He won’t let anyone stand behind him.
He won’t let anyone touch him.
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Explanation and Analysis:
“I don’t need the milk,” said my father. He pointed at Rosie. “But she needs you to milk her.”
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
“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 . . .”
“I always know where Jupiter is.”
Chapter 2
Quotes
“You have him shoveling manure, too? Is that what you get out of this? A bunch of kids who have to shovel manure for you?”
“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?”
Chapter 4
Quotes
He was going to be a father, he said.
He was only thirteen, she said again.
Chapter 5
Quotes
“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.
When my father put his hand on Joseph’s back, Joseph didn’t even flinch.
Chapter 6
Quotes
You know what happened when Mr. Brook put his hand on Joseph’s back?
Joseph flinched.
But he went into the living room with his father anyway.
“And who do you think you’re kidding? You know you’ve got a sweet deal going. You get your check from the state every month to keep my kid. You’re in this for the money.” He pointed to Joseph. “You know you’re just a job for them? You are nothing but income.”
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.
“The boy isn’t your brother?” he said.
“I have his back,” I said
“But he can’t love her just for himself. He has to love her for her, too.”
Chapter 9
Quotes
“Jackie,” said Jupiter.
“That’s right,” I said. “Jackie.”
Get the entire Orbiting Jupiter LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mr. Hurd Quotes in Orbiting Jupiter
The Orbiting Jupiter quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Hurd or refer to Mr. Hurd. 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
They sent Joseph to Stone Mountain, even though he did what he did because the kid gave him something bad and he swallowed it. But that didn’t matter. They sent him to Stone Mountain anyway.
He won’t talk about what happened to him there. But since he left Stone Mountain, he won’t wear anything orange.
He won’t let anyone stand behind him.
He won’t let anyone touch him.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“I don’t need the milk,” said my father. He pointed at Rosie. “But she needs you to milk her.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“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 . . .”
“I always know where Jupiter is.”
Chapter 2
Quotes
“You have him shoveling manure, too? Is that what you get out of this? A bunch of kids who have to shovel manure for you?”
“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?”
Chapter 4
Quotes
He was going to be a father, he said.
He was only thirteen, she said again.
Chapter 5
Quotes
“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.
When my father put his hand on Joseph’s back, Joseph didn’t even flinch.
Chapter 6
Quotes
You know what happened when Mr. Brook put his hand on Joseph’s back?
Joseph flinched.
But he went into the living room with his father anyway.
“And who do you think you’re kidding? You know you’ve got a sweet deal going. You get your check from the state every month to keep my kid. You’re in this for the money.” He pointed to Joseph. “You know you’re just a job for them? You are nothing but income.”
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.
“The boy isn’t your brother?” he said.
“I have his back,” I said
“But he can’t love her just for himself. He has to love her for her, too.”
Chapter 9
Quotes
“Jackie,” said Jupiter.
“That’s right,” I said. “Jackie.”
