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Themes
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.
In Orbiting Jupiter, being a good parent is about more than loving and supporting one’s child: it’s also about putting one’s child’s needs before one’s own. The novel illustrates good parenting by contrasting the behavior of a bad father, Mr. Brook, with that of a good father, Mr. Hurd. It also traces the journey of an unprepared teenaged father, Joseph, as he learns how to be a good parent. Mr. Brook is a thoroughly bad parent to his son Joseph. He fails to love Joseph, beating him and disparaging his intelligence. He also fails to support Joseph, verbally undermining Joseph’s hope of going to college. Moreover, he puts his own needs before Joseph’s, as when he arranges an adoption for Joseph’s baby daughter, Jupiter—without Joseph’s knowledge and against his wishes—in order to make money. Ultimately, Mr. Brook kills Joseph with his drunk and reckless driving, a tragic end to Joseph’s life that emphasizes how destructive a bad parent can be to his child.
By contrast, Joseph’s foster father Mr. Hurd loves Joseph, supports him, and puts Joseph’s needs before his own. Mr. Hurd illustrates every element of good parenting when he puts all the money he receives from the state for fostering Joseph into a college fund for Joseph. Even though Mr. Hurd, a small organic farmer, could presumably use the money to defray the expenses of caring for Joseph, he judges Joseph’s need for a college fund as more important than his own household expenses.
Finally, 14-year-old Joseph deeply loves his baby daughter Jupiter, but he initially he puts his own emotional needs (to meet Jupiter in order to retain a connection to Jupiter’s dead mother Madeleine) over Jupiter’s need for adult adoptive parents who have the knowledge, resources, and maturity to care for her. It is only after Joseph sees good parenting modeled by Mr. Hurd, Mrs. Hurd, and Jupiter’s foster mother the librarian that he recognizes that being a good father to Jupiter means letting caring adults parent her. Through the examples of Mr. Hurd, Mr. Brook, and Joseph, the novel presents the ideal parent as person who not only loves and supports their child, but also puts their child’s needs above their own.
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Parenthood ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Parenthood appears in each chapter of Orbiting Jupiter. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Parenthood Quotes in Orbiting Jupiter
Below you will find the important quotes in Orbiting Jupiter related to the theme of Parenthood.
Chapter 1 Quotes
“I don’t need the milk,” said my father. He pointed at Rosie. “But she needs you to milk her.”
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Joseph’s second day on the Hurds’ farm, he tries to milk the Hurds’ friendliest cow, Rosie, who has mooed lovingly at Joseph when he’s rubbed her rump. When Joseph initially fails at milking Rosie, he stands up and moves away, indicating that he’s given up. At this point, Mr. Hurd steps in, telling Joseph that while the Hurds don’t need the milk, Rosie “needs you to milk her.” This small scene illustrates both Mr. Hurd’s good parenting and Joseph’s bond with animals, which slowly reveals that the friendly cows judge Joseph more accurately than many of the prejudiced people around 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. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime
“I always know where Jupiter is.”
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One day, walking home from school, Jack asks Joseph what his baby daughter’s name is. Joseph reveals that her name is Jupiter, which was his and the baby’s mother’s (Madeleine Joyce’s) favorite planet. That night, while Jack and Joseph are stacking firewood outside with Mr. Hurd, Jack asks where the planet Jupiter is in the night sky—and Joseph immediately points it out. When Mr. Hurd asks who he knew, Joseph replies, “I always know where Jupiter is.” Joseph’s obsessive tracking of the planet Jupiter through the night sky illustrates both his love for his daughter and his trauma. At this 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.
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?”
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One day while Joseph is at counseling, his father Mr. Brook shows up at the Hurds’ barn looking for him. He sees Jack cleaning the barn, assumes that Jack is a foster child like Joseph rather than Mr. Hurd’s biological child, and aggressively asks whether Mr. Hurd has Joseph “shoveling manure, too?” He also asks what Mr. Hurd “get[s] out of this,” i.e., out of fostering children who have been removed from their original homes. Mr. Brook’s questions and assumptions create a stark contrast between his parenting style and Mr. Hurd’s. When he asks what Mr. Hurd “get[s] out of” 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 perspicia
“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
Chapter 4 Quotes
Madeleine Joyce was thirteen years old when she met Joseph Brook. She lived in a house that had pillars in the front and a wing on each side and statues on the lawn. Her father and her mother were both lawyers, so she spent a lot of time by herself in that big house when she wasn’t away at her prep school. Sometimes she had a nanny who lived in the north guesthouse, sometimes not.
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Orbiting Jupiter’s narrator Jack is retelling in his own words Joseph’s account of how he ended up a 14-year-old father in foster care. Joseph begins by describing how he met Madeleine, the eventual mother of his baby daughter Jupiter. Joseph’s description of Madeleine’s background nuances the novel’s depiction of parenting by emphasizing that parents can be good or bad regardless of their socioeconomic status. While Joseph’s working-class father Mr. Brook is physically abusive, Madeleine’s wealthy lawyer parents are neglectful. Joseph’s description of Madeleine’s home makes clear that her parents are not only wealthy but ostentatiously rich: the house has “pillars,” 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 ten
He was going to be a father, he said.
He was only thirteen, she said again.
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Jack is retelling in his own words Joseph’s account of how he ended up a young teenage father in foster care. In this section of Joseph’s story, Joseph is explaining how his social worker, Mrs. Stroud, came to tell him that his 13-year-old girlfriend, Madeleine, was pregnant and that she was removing him from his abusive father Mr. Brook’s household to a group home. On the ride from Mr. Brook’s house, when Joseph expresses a desire to be with Madeleine, Mrs. Stroud tells him that he can’t see Madeleine (her parents have taken out an injunction against him). When Joseph 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. Sint q
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.
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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 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.
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Joseph’s abusive father Mr. Brook has secured visitation rights to see Joseph while the Hurds are fostering him. When Mr. Brook puts a hand on Joseph’s back to lead him into the Hurds’ empty living room so that they can talk privately, Joseph visibly flinches but keeps going. Early in the novel, Joseph’s social worker Mrs. Stroud explained to the Hurds that due to a traumatic stay in a high-security juvenile facility, Joseph won’t let people touch him or get behind him. Yet in the previous chapter, after several months with the Hurds, Joseph hugged Mrs. Hurd and didn’t flinch 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 a
“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.”
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State foster care systems give foster parents a monthly stipend to help with the cost of housing, feeding, and care for a foster child or children. In general, this monthly stipend is not particularly large. Nevertheless, toward the end of his first visit with Joseph, Joseph’s abusive father, Mr. Brook, explodes at Joseph’s foster father, Mr. Hurd, accuses Mr. Hurd of foster parenting “for the money,” and makes the improbable claim that the monthly foster-care stipend constitutes a “sweet deal.” Mr. Brook’s outburst characterizes his damaging parenting style in two ways. First, he cannot conceive of a father—biological, foster, or 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.
Chapter 7 Quotes
“But he can’t love her just for himself. He has to love her for her, too.”
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Joseph has run away to Brunswick in search of his baby daughter Jupiter. While searching for Joseph in Brunswick with his parents Mr. and Mrs. Hurd, Jack shows Joseph’s photo to a librarian in a public library—and, by coincidence, discovers that the librarian is Jupiter’s foster mother. When the librarian tells Jack that Joseph can’t raise Jupiter because he can’t take care of her, Jack retorts that Joseph can love her. The librarian replies that he “can’t love her just for himself” but “for her, too.” The distinction between loving her “for himself” and “for her” suggests that Joseph’s desire 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 eaq
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.
