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Roy’s dad, Mr. Eberhardt, works for the Department of Justice; it’s implied that he’s particularly skilled in interrogation. However, Roy doesn’t know or even care all that much what his dad does for work, though he often fears telling his dad things—such as Mullet Fingers’s nickname or Dana’s name—because he’s worried his dad will get the kids in more trouble than they might get in otherwise. This fear seems somewhat overblown, as Mr. Eberhardt is certainly interested in justice. He’s also more concerned, for instance, with the fact that Mullet Fingers isn’t safe at home than he is that Mullet Fingers isn’t attending school. Mr. Eberhardt encourages Roy to be smart, safe, honest, and to stand up for what he believes is right. He even becomes an unexpected ally when Roy is trying to fight the Mother Paula’s development project: Mr. Eberhardt is the one to discover that the company is missing an Environmental Impact Statement and consult a lawyer.
Mr. Eberhardt Quotes in Hoot
The Hoot quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Eberhardt or refer to Mr. Eberhardt. 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:
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Chapter 11 Quotes
Roy stood rooted in the center of the road. He had an important decision to make, and quickly. From one direction came the police car; running in the other direction were his two friends...
Well, the closest things to friends that he had in Coconut Cove.
Roy drew a deep breath and dashed after them. He heard a honk, but he kept going, hoping that the police officer wouldn’t jump out and chase him on foot. Roy didn’t think he’d done anything wrong, but he wondered if he could get in trouble for helping Mullet Fingers, a fugitive from the school system.
The kid was only trying to take care of some owls—how could that possibly be a crime? Roy thought.
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Chapter 13 Quotes
“They’ve probably got all the necessary paperwork and permits.”
“They’ve got permits to bury owls?” Roy asked in disbelief.
“The owls will fly away. They’ll find new dens somewhere else.”
“What if they’ve got babies? How will the baby birds fly away?” Roy shot back angrily. “How, Dad?”
“I don’t know,” his father admitted.
“How would you and Mom like it,” Roy pressed on, “if a bunch of strangers showed up one day with bulldozers to flatten this house? And all they had to say was ‘Don’t worry, Mr. and Mrs. Eberhardt, it’s no big deal. Just pack up and move to another place.’ How would you feel about that?”
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Chapter 14 Quotes
“Ever since I was little,” Mullet Fingers said, “I’ve been watchin’ this place disappear—the piney woods, the scrub, the creeks, the glades. Even the beaches, man—they put up all those giant hotels and only goober tourists are allowed. It really sucks.”
Roy said, “Same thing happens everywhere.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t fight back.”
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Chapter 18 Quotes
“Dad wants my brother to come back and live with us again, but Lonna says no way, José, he’s a bad seed. What the heck does that mean, Tex? ‘Bad seed.’ Anyway, they’re still not speakin’ to each other, Lonna and my dad. The whole house feels like it’s about to explode.”
To Roy, Beatrice’s situation sounded like a living nightmare. “Need a place to hide out?” he asked.
“That’s okay. Dad says he feels better when I’m around.”
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Mr. Eberhardt Character Timeline in Hoot
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Eberhardt appears in Hoot. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...In fact, he liked it so much that he tried to run away the night Roy’s father announced they were moving. Now, in vice principal Miss Hennepin’s office, Roy explains that he...
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Chapter 3
...gets home from school, he has to tell his parents about the incident with Dana. Mr. Eberhardt tells Roy it’s never okay to fight, but Roy maintains he only punched Dana in...
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...When Roy shows it to Mrs. Eberhardt, she says the tone is too “forceful.” But Mr. Eberhardt says it’s perfect.
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Chapter 5
...Roy comes downstairs after finishing his homework an hour later, he hears Mrs. Eberhardt telling Mr. Eberhardt that the school doesn’t want to discipline Dana because they’re afraid Dana’s parents will sue....
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Chapter 6
...Roy asks his parents if it’s illegal for a kid to not go to school. Mr. Eberhardt explains that it is illegal and is called truancy. But they just make kids go...
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Mr. Eberhardt changes the subject and reads from the newspaper about a police cruiser that was vandalized...
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Chapter 7
...for getting him home safe? As Officer Delinko pulls Roy’s bike out of the trunk, Mr. Eberhardt comes out to chat about law enforcement stuff. When Mr. Eberhardt wheels Roy’s bike into...
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Chapter 9
...no other option, Roy knows he has to stand and fight—even though he’s pretty sure Mr. Eberhardt would characterize this choice as “stupidity.” He also worries about Mrs. Eberhardt, who will be...
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Chapter 11
Mr. Eberhardt is reading when Mrs. Eberhardt comes to tell him that Officer Delinko, the policeman who...
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...Mrs. Eberhardt can say it looks like Beatrice’s bike, Officer Delinko asks if she and Mr. Eberhardt recognize the strip of fabric he found. They don’t. The phone rings, so Mrs. Eberhardt...
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Chapter 12
...his magazine. But then he hears raised voices coming from the treatment area and recognizes Mr. Eberhardt and Mrs. Eberhardt’s voices. He goes through the doors and shouts for his parents.
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...the hospital—the right thing to do, but also a good way to score points with Mr. Eberhardt . At the ER, the Eberhardts tell the clerk who they are, but the clerk...
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...Gonzalez has no idea where her patient went. Officer Delinko steps between the doctor and Mr. Eberhardt , who looks angry enough to lash out. A few minutes later, Roy bursts through...
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Chapter 13
After dinner, Roy joins Mr. Eberhardt in the den. Roy is carrying a book, The Sibley Guide to Birds, which Mr....
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Sadly, Mr. Eberhardt assures Roy that Mother Paula’s certainly has all the permits. Roy is shocked that one...
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...Roy feels awful for bringing it up. She kisses Roy and says that she and Mr. Eberhardt are proud of Roy. Roy asks if she heard about the owls, and then he...
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Chapter 14
...to the flagpole, but Roy can’t answer in front of his parents. A bit later, Mr. Eberhardt drives Roy to pick up his new bike tire, which means Roy can then visit...
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Chapter 15
...about the vandalism at Mother Paula’s than he’s letting on, but he’s also confident that Mr. Eberhardt , with his background in interrogation, will get to the bottom of it. After a...
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Chapter 16
While Roy is eating breakfast on Sunday morning, Mr. Eberhardt tells him someone is at the door with a skateboard. Relieved that it’s Garrett and...
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When Mr. Eberhardt and Mrs. Eberhardt come to tell Roy goodnight, Mr. Eberhardt shares that Officer Delinko left...
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Chapter 17
Beatrice is already gone when Roy wakes up. During breakfast, Mr. Eberhardt reads the newspaper article about Dana’s arrest; Mrs. Eberhardt is incensed that Dana’s name isn’t...
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Chapter 18
Mr. Eberhardt was working late Monday night, so Roy didn’t get to tell him about the missing...
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Chapter 19
...Mother Paula’s groundbreaking at lunch. To his surprise, she refuses and says they can ask Mr. Eberhardt —Roy figures he’s not going. But Mr. Eberhardt says yes, so long as Roy behaves....
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Chapter 21
...using her son to get on TV. Before Roy leaves for school, Mrs. Eberhardt says, Mr. Eberhardt wants to see him. She assures Roy he’s not in trouble; he and Beatrice didn’t...
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...Chuck Muckle strangled a reporter after Roy went back to school. She says she and Mr. Eberhardt had to disconnect the phone already this morning to escape the reporters, but Roy shouldn’t...
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Mr. Eberhardt appears behind Roy and asks for a word with his son. Closing the front door,...
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...on purpose. She hugs the folder and thanks Roy, but Roy tells her to thank Mr. Eberhardt . Clearly, he cares about the owls too.
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Epilogue
...his employees’ “careless actions,” but Roy says he’s just lying to make himself look good. Mr. Eberhardt agrees, and Roy points out that he doesn’t even deserve all this credit. Mullet Fingers...
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Back in the present, Roy assures Mrs. Eberhardt that Mullet Fingers will be okay, and Mr. Eberhardt suggests they go for a drive. They drive to the corner of East Oriole and...
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