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Trauma and Trust
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Orbiting Jupiter, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Orbiting Jupiter represents true friendship not as a casual social bond but as an intense, loving relationship that involves supporting and sacrificing for one’s friends. 12-year-old Jack Hurd wants to be friends with his 14-year-old foster brother Joseph Brook. When their school bus driver Mr. Haskell insults Joseph, Joseph storms off the bus—and Jack goes too, even though it means walking to school in the cold. That is, Jack sacrifices his own physical comfort to show support for Joseph after a prejudiced adult is cruel to him. A little later, when Joseph falls through thin ice on a cold, fast-flowing river, Jack risks his own life to save Joseph’s, demonstrating that friendship demands bravery and potential self-sacrifice as well as emotional support. Meanwhile, when Joseph’s abusive father Mr. Brook shows up drunk at the Hurd house to kidnap Joseph and threatens Jack with a gun, Joseph goes quietly with his father so that Mr. Brook will leave Jack alone. Though Joseph cannot foresee that leaving with his father will lead to his own death, he clearly recognizes that he is putting his own life at risk by going with his father, yet he does so anyway in order to protect Jack. At Joseph’s funeral, Jack reflects that Joseph “wasn’t just [his] friend” but someone who “had his back,” and that this is the true meaning of “love.” Thus, the novel suggests that friendship involves not only socializing but mutual support, protection, self-sacrifice, and real love.
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Friendship and Love ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Friendship and Love appears in each chapter of Orbiting Jupiter. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Friendship and Love Quotes in Orbiting Jupiter
Below you will find the important quotes in Orbiting Jupiter related to the theme of Friendship and Love .
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
The winter I was six, I saw a yellow dog on thin ice on the Alliance. I was with my mother, and we were walking back from a breakfast potluck at First Congregational before it became old First Congregational. The yellow dog was out farther on the ice than Joseph, but not much, and it had fallen through and its eyes were huge and it was grabbing on with its front paws, scratching, looking for something to hold onto. It wasn’t making a sound. I told my mother we had to go get it, but she held my arm so I wouldn’t go down to the river.
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One day, while Jack and Joseph are walking home from school, Joseph swerves off the road and ventures onto the thin ice covering the Alliance River. As Jack desperately tries to convince Joseph to return to solid ground, he flashes back to the time when, at age six, he saw a yellow dog fall through the ice on the Alliance River and eventually drown. This flashback serves both to characterize Jack—as someone who has matured out of childhood into young adolescence but not into full adulthood—and to foreshadow Joseph’s eventual fate. At six, Jack wanted to save the yellow dog, 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 co
“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 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
“No one’s ever had my back before.”
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The night that Jack jumps into a locker room fight to protect Joseph from some other eighth graders, Joseph tells him that he shouldn’t have gotten involved. But Joseph also thanks him, saying that “no one’s ever had by back before” This expression of gratitude—and the way that Joseph formulates it—is another important moment in the development of Jack and Joseph’s friendship. In the previous chapter, when Jack tried to reassure Joseph that Joseph wasn’t alone because Jack was there, Joseph insisted that he was alone, suggesting that he didn’t feel he could rely on Jack. Yet in this scene, 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.
Chapter 7 Quotes
“The boy isn’t your brother?” he said.
“I have his back,” I said
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Mr. Hurd, Mrs. Hurd, and Jack Hurd are searching for Joseph, who has run away to Brunswick because his baby daughter Jupiter is being fostered there. They’ve stopped at a Baptist church where the pastor has implied that Joseph and Jack are biological brothers. Here, Jack corrects him by saying simply that he “ha[s] [Joseph’s] back.” Jack’s reply, “I have his back,” doesn’t explicitly deny that he is Joseph’s brother. It leaves Jack’s biological, legal, and social relationship to Joseph undefined, not saying whether they are biological brothers, foster brothers, or friends. Instead, Jack describes his relationship to Joseph by 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. Expl
Chapter 8 Quotes
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
And that’s when I started crying. Crying like a kindergarten kid in front of everyone. Crying because Joseph wasn’t just my friend.
I had his back.
And he had mine.
That’s what greater love is.
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At Joseph’s funeral, Reverend Ballou quotes from the Gospel of John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In the Gospel, the quotation comes from Jesus Christ talking to his disciples, ordering them to “love one another as I love you” (John 15:12) and then specifying what such a love means. Given that Jesus Christ will be crucified later in the Gospel to atone for humanity’s sins, the quotation also foreshadows Joseph’s sacrificial death. Joseph died because his drunk, abusive father drove him onto a derelict bridge that collapsed 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 itaq
Chapter 9 Quotes
“Jackie,” said Jupiter.
“That’s right,” I said. “Jackie.”
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Prior to Joseph’s death, it is implied that Mr. and Mrs. Hurd had begun the process of legally adopting Jupiter so that Joseph could have a relationship with his beloved daughter without trying to take on full, adult parental responsibility for her. After Joseph’s death, the Hurds go through with the adoption—implicitly out of love for Joseph and a desire to honor his memory. When Jupiter first meets Jack, she calls him “Jackie,” a nickname that Joseph sometimes sarcastically used on Jack. Whereas Jack would always defensively correct Joseph, saying his name was not “Jackie” but “Jack,” Jack tells Jupiter 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.
