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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:
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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 . . .”
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Jack has begun walking with Joseph to their shared middle school rather than taking the bus because the bus driver, Mr. Haskell, was loudly rude to Joseph about Joseph being a teen father. One day, the school’s vice principal, Mr. Canton, finds Jack alone by his lockers and essentially warns him not to spend too much time with his foster brother. Mr. Canton’s little speech implicitly criticizes foster parenting, suggesting that it’s largely useless. Mr. Canton claims to “respect” Mr. and Mrs. Hurd fostering Joseph, but he seems to protest too much when he claims, “I really do.” When he Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus h
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.
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After Jack rescues Joseph from the Alliance River when Joseph falls through its thin ice, their vice principal Mr. Canton finds them and gives them a ride home. At home, Mr. Hurd verbally disciplines Jack, reminding Jack that each winter Mr. Hurd tells him not to go out onto the ice until Mr. Hurd tells him that it’s safe. Joseph interrupts this Mr. Hurd’s harangue to let Mr. Hurd know that Jack “came onto the ice” to save Joseph. Joseph’s interruption and Mr. Hurd’s response are moments of important development for both characters. When Joseph first arrives in the Hurds’ Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure.
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?”
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Jack and Joseph have fifth-period “Office Duty,” which involves running errands for vice principal Mr. Canton. One day, Mr. Canton hasn’t given them any work, so after a while Joseph takes out a book and begins to read. When Mr. Canton sees Joseph reading, he lectures Joseph and Jack about responsibility. On the one hand, Mr. Canton’s lecture has some truth to it, but on the other hand, the context of his lecture undercuts his message. Mr. Canton argues that responsibility “means being ready to do what you’re supposed to be doing.” Much of the novel’s plot turns on 14-year-old Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti ni
“Joseph,” she said, “we began poorly. Shall we try again?”
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Mrs. Halloway, the language arts teacher at Joseph and Jack’s middle school, was initially wary of Joseph because she had heard that he attacked a teacher while in a juvenile facility. Yet after she sees him reading a novel while bored on “Office Duty,” she approaches him in the hallway, admits that their relationship “began poorly,” and asks to “try again.” Mrs. Halloway is different from vice principal Mr. Canton, who remains prejudiced against Joseph due to his background and troubled past throughout the novel. She is also different from Math teacher Mr. D’Ulney and PE teacher Coach Swieteck, who Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur labori
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.
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After Joseph tells the Hurds how he became a father, that his girlfriend Madeleine died in childbirth, and that he wasn’t allowed to see his baby Jupiter, Joseph insists that he’s going to find Jupiter so that he won’t be “alone.” Jack insists that Joseph isn’t alone: “You’ve got me.” In reply, Joseph says that he’s “a whole lifetime ahead of” Jack. This exchange highlights an important dynamic in Jack and Joseph’s ultimately deep and loving friendship. At this point, Jack has already stood up for Joseph to prejudiced adults like Mr. Canton and Mr. Haskell, and he has already Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt r
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.
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When eighth-grader Jay Perkins and two of his friends jump Joseph in the locker room after PE, sixth-grader Jack enters the fray to protect Joseph. Afterward, Jack is sent to Mr. Canton’s office while the other boys are sent to the principal’s office. Mr. Canton immediately blames Joseph for the fight and for Jack’s involvement, saying that he knows Joseph’s “type” and that “trouble follows him like a yellow dog.” When Mr. Canton uses the phrase “yellow dog,” it has the colloquial meaning of a bad, low-down, or despicable person. By talking about Joseph’s type and comparing him to a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi
“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.
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Earlier in school, sixth-grader Jack entered a locker room fight to protect Joseph after some other eighth graders, Jay Perkins and his friends, jumped Joseph. Back at home, when Mr. and Mrs. Hurd attempt to admonish him for entering the fight rather than finding a teacher, he asks them, “Would you have left a guy being beat up to go find a teacher?” This question shows Jack’s growing independence and maturity. He doesn’t simply take his parents’ word for it that he did something wrong in entering a fight to defend Joseph. Rather—having thought through the problem himself and concluded Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque p
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.
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After a meeting with social worker Mrs. Stroud in which she reveals that Joseph’s daughter Jupiter is being fostered in Brunswick, Maine, Joseph runs away to try to find her. When they realize what has happened, Mr. Hurd and Jack drive out in search of Joseph, but a serious snowstorm drives them back. When they return, Mrs. Hurd informs them that Jack and Joseph’s middle school vice principal, Mr. Canton, came by and told her it “wasn’t [their] fault” that Joseph ran away because it’s “who Joseph Brook is.” Two adults at Jack and Joseph’s middle school, Mr. Canton and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut.
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Mr. Canton Character Timeline in Orbiting Jupiter
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Canton appears in Orbiting Jupiter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
When the boys arrive late at school, vice principal Mr. Canton asks whether they missed the bus. Jack says they got off early. Joseph adds that...
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About a week later, Mr. Canton finds Jack at his locker. He tells Jack that Mr. Haskell told him Jack wasn’t...
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...where Jupiter is.” Mr. Hurd looks sad, and Joseph hurries inside. Jack thinks that if Mr. Canton could have witnessed the incident, he’d know better about Joseph.
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Chapter 2
...the math teacher, gives Joseph extra problems during Joseph and Jack’s fifth-period “Office Duty.” After Mr. Canton sees Mr. D’Ulney giving Joseph a theorem, he starts giving Joseph and Jack more office...
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...Jack starts to ask why Joseph did it, Joseph cuts him off and walks away. Mr. Canton drives up, orders the boys inside his car, and turns up the heat. He tells...
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...Jack sees a scar all down Joseph’s side. Joseph tells Jack not to worry about Mr. Canton because Mr. Hurd will call him—and to never say “Maddie” again. He also says that...
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Chapter 3
During Office Duty, Mr. Canton doesn’t have anything for the boys to do. Eventually, Joseph takes Octavian Nothing from his...
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Chapter 5
Joseph, Jay, Nick, and Brian end up in the principal’s office. Jack ends up in Mr. Canton ’s office. When Mr. Canton asks why Jack didn’t go get a teacher, Jack asks...
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Chapter 7
...has called Mrs. Stroud, who has notified the police. Evidently the police notified the school: Mr. Canton came by the house and told Mrs. Hurd that the Hurds shouldn’t blame themselves—kids like...
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Chapter 8
For a few days after Joseph gets home, Mrs. Stroud and Mr. Canton sternly lecture him. Joseph decides to start walking to school again, with Mr. Hurd’s permission,...
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...the fact, Jack and the Hurds reconstruct what happened: Mr. Brook was driving too fast. Mr. Canton , driving out of school, saw the white pickup coming at him down the road...
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...funeral three days later, in the side chapel of First Congregational, Jack counts Mr. D’Ulney, Mr. Canton , Mrs. Halloway, a weeping Coach Swieteck, Mr. Hurd, Mrs. Hurd, the librarian, the Baptist...
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