How does the author use symbolism in the novel, We’re All Damaged?

Jeter the cat symbolizes how Andy manages relationships. There is a sense of desperation in Andy to be able to come home to someone and have them feed him. However, like Jeter, Andy is particular about how he is taken care of. There is a sense that Andy wants to develop relationships on his own terms, making both he and Jeter appear self-centered and angry. Jeter, like Andy, wants his own space, but he also appreciates what Andy does for him, which is symbolized in the dead mice Jeter brings to Andy’s front door. Andy has friends that want to help him move on from the divorce, and Andy appreciates their intentions, which is symbolized in the way Andy shows up for the blind date that was set up for him even though he did not really want to go. However, like Jeter, Andy is unable to hide his discontent and verbally expresses that he never wanted to be on the blind in the first place.

By the end of the book, when Andy returns home from Omaha, he decides he is going to adopt Jeter as his own. This changes the relationship between them, and Jeter makes it a point to follow Andy to the street where he meets Katie, the girl he was supposed to have a blind date with at the beginning of the book. Both Andy and Jeter become more open to having relationships and moving on with their lives. It even goes so far as Jeter allowing Katie to pet him while they sit on the roof of Andy’s apartment building.