Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal | Page 38

had not yet finished "my" poem!"
AMERICAN LAWYER
Yes! They’re incredibly creepy!
ZEMBLAN LAWYER
(To the American Lawyer) By whose standards? Whose?
(To the jury)
The prosecution will say that these things are proof of Kinbote’s insanity -
a vague term that implies he is making up his king-
ship and Shade’s murder. But tell me, what from this
list seems to be anything more than slightly odd - the
actions of a man out of his element, a man lonely, in
need of companionship? Why should a man have to
conform to society’s heteronormative expectations of
unemotional masculinity to be considered sane?
AMERICAN LAWYER
Objection! The prosecution hasn’t mentioned anything related to Kinbote’s
homosexuality.
JUDGE
Sustained. The defense should please refrain from suggestions of homo-
phobia, as they are not relevant to the case.
ZEMBLAN LAWYER
They are absolutely relevant! But alright. The prosecution will also say, in
trying to build their concrete evidence, that Kinbote’s
commentary is full of references to Shade’s declining
health, and that must therefore mean that Shade’s
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