Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal | Page 5

It all starts with the obvious truth, being that Mr. Shade and Mr.
Kinbote were indeed neighbors for a period of time. What causes more of
a question is to what extent these neighbors were friendly with one anoth-
er or if it was something else. During his time alive, Mr. Shade had many
encounters with Mr. Kinbote, both because of work and because of them
living so near to one another. These encounters would seem to be those
that friends have, and Mr. Kinbote even states “I had known… rotating,
malicious music” (18-19). However, as documented multiple times, it
seems that Mr. Kinbote’s presence was unwelcomed, if even observed.
Most the times it seems as if Mr. Kinbote wasn’t around the Shade’s, but
rather watching them from a window in his house. There are many in-
stances documented like how he says, “I saw from… to line 230 (card
18)” (157). Friends don’t constantly watch over the other’s house to see
what they are doing, which Mr. Kinbote does on more than one occur-
rence. Along with that, Mr. Kinbote seemingly is obsessed with Mr. Shade
and get much more jealous than a normal “friend” would. This jealousy is
documented when after phoning the Shades’ house all throughout the day,
Mr. Kinbote states “I cried that…on March 30” (259). Repeatedly calling
someone to figure out what they are doing is much more stalker motivated
than friend motivated, and this same obsession is shown again when it is
noted that the Shade’s plan to take a summer trip and Mr. Kinbote’s reac-
tion was “the dreadful thought… had just swallowed” (181). The thought of
not being able to be around Mr. Shade and being able to watch him fright-
ened Mr. Kinbote to such a degree that he even rented a cabin by theirs
during the vacation so that he wouldn’t have to be alone during this time.
The constant badgering of his neighbor and strange obsession with his
work and routine goes to show not only that the defendant and the now
deceased weren’t friends, but also that the defendant is delusional for
thinking so.
As for the actual murder aspect of this story, the obsession and
stalker like tendencies are necessary to prompt a motive. There are many
different points that could lead to believing that the defendant did indeed
kill Mr. Shade. With the amount of surveillance Mr. Kinbote had on Mr.
Shade, it would’ve been easy for him to pick out a specific time and place
that would work best for the murder and how to try and cover it up. Know-
ing that the Shade’s were renting a “cabin at 6,000 or 7,000 feet” when it
was known that Mr. Shade had heart problems could provide good cover
for the murder (182). It was also documented that Mr. Kinbote mutters and
says under his breath “I will kill him” “oh, I will kill him” (293). It can be in-
ferred that this “him” that is discussed is none other than Mr. Shade him-
self. It is also noted that Mr. Kinbote wanted to make sure the manuscript
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