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What is the metaphor of Jane "kept all her kings in the back row" in the book Catcher in the rye?

It's interesting to view Jane's checker-playing as a metaphor for her approach to life. Kings in the back row might stand for self-discipline, reserve, or a hidden ally.


One thing Holden remembers from playing checkers with Jane is that, when she got a king, she would keep it in the back row. She would line up her kings because "she just liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row." This is unusual because a king in checkers is a powerful piece. Most people are eager, as soon as they get a king, to use it to help them win the game. 


We can tell from this that winning was not Jane's primary concern in checkers.  She wanted things to look a certain way. This might tell us that she was a precise person who liked things arranged just so. Holden tells us that she was a ballet dancer, and "used to practice about two hours every day, right in the middle of the hottest weather and all." This shows us that Jane has a lot of self-discipline.  


Jane is also reserved. She obviously has problems with her stepfather, but she does not confide in Holden, even in the scene where she cries and he comforts her. She also does not go on making out with Holden afterward. She keeps her secrets and her dignity, just like she keeps her kings in the back row.


Because Holden knows this about Jane, he has some hope that she did not allow Stradlater (a notorious lecher) to take advantage of her.  


Finally, it's possible that Holden himself is Jane's "king in the back row." He is clearly devoted to her and wants to help and protect her. During the course of the book, they do not see each other, and Holden does not even call her (though he considers it many times). Really, Holden is not in much shape to protect anybody, however much he might want to do so. Still, he is on Jane's side. He is an ally who might help her some day, though it is not apparent to the rest of the world.

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