Stradlater and Holden have different opinions about Jane.

From Holden's description of the way Jane plays checkers, with more regard for the symmetry of the pieces on the board than for the outcome of the game, we wish that she might have been introduced into the action of the novel. In Holden's great fear of Jane's fate at the hands of Stradlater we find the seed of the "catcher in the rye" image. He wants to protect her innocence from the potentially corrupting influence of Stradlater. Thus, the lonely youth seeking to establish human companionship is simultaneously concerned with protecting innocence. The two activities work hand in hand.