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In Orbiting Jupiter, cows represent a natural, unprejudiced moral judgment that contrasts with the prejudiced judgments of many human beings. The Hurds, a farming family in Maine, foster 14-year-old Joseph Brook after the state of Maine removes Joseph from the care of his abusive father, Mr. Brook. When Mr. Hurd and his 12-year-old son Jack Hurd show Joseph their barn, the cows make no distressed noises and continue eating peaceably—which innocent, unprejudiced Jack interprets to mean that the cows recognize an intrinsic decency in Joseph. Though on his first day at the Hurds’ Joseph refuses to try milking the cow Rosie, he rubs Rosie’s rump, which she loves, revealing his hidden kindness and fondness for animals. The next day, Joseph tries to milk Rosie but fails at first. When he plans to give up, Mr. Hurd explains that Rosie needs to be milked—and this appeal to Rosie’s needs motivates Joseph to try again, showing his sense of responsibility.
While various adults in Joseph’s life judge him negatively for his troubled past—for example, the vice principal of his new school, Mr. Canton, and his bus driver Mr. Haskell—the novel ultimately proves the cows right: Joseph ultimately turns out to be a kind, decent, brave boy who has had to face terrible circumstances. Thus, the cows symbolize how the naïve moral judgments of animals and children like Jack may be more accurate than the cynical judgments of prejudiced adults.
Cows Quotes in Orbiting Jupiter
The Orbiting Jupiter quotes below all refer to the symbol of Cows. 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 don’t need the milk,” said my father. He pointed at Rosie. “But she needs you to milk her.”
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”Do you think Joseph will fit in?” my mother asked me later.
“Rosie loves him,” I said.
I didn’t need to say anything more. You can tell all you need to know about someone from the way cows are around him.
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Get the entire Orbiting Jupiter LitChart as a printable PDF.
Cows Symbol Timeline in Orbiting Jupiter
The timeline below shows where the symbol Cows appears in Orbiting Jupiter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...Jack and Joseph into the barn and tells Joseph to watch how they milk the cows. The cows look at Joseph but don’t moo, which, to Jack, means they think Joseph...
(full context)
Joseph turns down Mr. Hurd’s invitation to milk the friendliest cow, Rosie, but after Mr. Hurd milks her, Joseph rubs her rump. Rosie moos, startling Joseph....
(full context)
Joseph tries to milk the cow Rosie. At first, he fails. Mr. Hurd tells him that he should finish. When Joseph...
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...Joseph doesn’t notice as he pants and hurries inside. But that afternoon, he rubs the cow Rosie’s rump and milks her again, though it takes him a while. Later, when Mrs....
(full context)
Chapter 2
...eyes”—Joseph’s father, Mr. Brook—appears in the Hurd barn and asks Jack where Joseph is. The cows moo unhappily, unlike when Joseph arrived. Mr. Brook asks whether “Joe” is there. When Jack...
(full context)
Chapter 4
...carefully. When Joseph finishes, he flees to the barn, and Jack can hear Rosie the cow mooing lovingly. Jack asks why Joseph can’t see Jupiter, and his parents tell him that...
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Chapter 5
The temperature drops even further. While Jack and Joseph milk the loving cows in the cold barn, Joseph talks about Madeleine: how she made him feel “warm inside,”...
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...to call Mrs. Stroud. Joseph hugs Mrs. Hurd as trustingly as he hugs Rosie the cow. When Mr. Hurd puts a hand on Joseph’s back, Joseph is fine with it.
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Chapter 6
...Hurd asks whether he’s all right. Joseph says he’s going to check whether Rosie the cow has enough hay, then he flees.
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...finish milking. When he goes back to the barn, Joseph goes with him. Rosie the cow moos lovingly at Joseph, perhaps intuiting that he needs emotional support. Later, at dinner, Joseph...
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Chapter 8
...and Madeleine danced. When Jack says yes, Joseph goes out, smiling, to milk Rosie the cow. Jack has finally lost count of the number of times he’s seen Joseph smile.
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