Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal | Page 10

the short wall behind
him. He quickly regains his composure and walks up to the jury to begin
speaking. Miles
effectively speaks with his hands.
Ladies and gentlemen, I come forth you today to show you that Mr. Kin-
bote is rather a fan or friend of John Shade and at times a worrisome
neighbor that may make him a bit stalker-ish. My first piece of evidence
proves that Mr. Kinbote is too busy examining Mr. Shade throughout the
day to worry about being the exiled king. He often looks through his win-
dows and peers across the street to see what Mr. Shade is doing at that
moment.[7] Kinbote also recounts the time of day when John Shade was
exhaustively working on his poem Pale Fire.[8] Although these accounts
paint him to be a very nosey neighborhood, it simple makes him an enthu-
siastic fan of John Shade.
Secondly, Kinbote not only examines Mr. Shade, he is also a close friend
of John Shade. Kinbote speaks very highly of Mr. Shade and explains his
admiration for him.[9] In this exchange he treats John Shade as a marvel
and his regard toward him is one of wonder. He also speaks of the friend-
ship they share as something special. He does this several times. He even
goes to explain that although their friendship wasn’t one of length, it was
one of true quality.[10] These are proof that Kinbote is too much defined
as John Shades dear friend and fan, rather than the king of Zembla.
Finally, my last piece of evidence further shows that Mr. Kinbote is too
much worried about the state of John Shade to be worried about royal
matters. Charles Kinbote takes much care into seeing that Mr. Shade is
well looked after. When John Shade and his wife, Sybil, were considering
a vacation spot, Kinbote analyzed the levels and if were to be safe enough
for his dear friend and celebrity, John Shade.[11] This shows not only care
but a bit of obsession with John shade. Another way Kinbote shows his
care for Mr. Shade is in his urgency to see him often. He once almost cried
because he needed to see John due to his love for him.[12]
Members of the jury, I urge you to look at this man, Charles Kinbote, as
mere passionate fan of John Shade, and I ask you to not mis-identify him
as the king of Zembla from coincidences.
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