Pale Fire: Illustrated Sports Illustrated Sports Pale Fire Journal | Page 100

King escape exile from his country and find lodgings elsewhere. When John
Shade’s story is cross-examined with Odon’s, many overlaps are seen. Shade
himself was not an actor, but instead pursued another creative field: writing; spe-
cifically, poetry. He was also world-renowned in his field and published many
works throughout his life. Shade also has a dear friend who he spends most of
his free time with: Charles Kinbote, who is his next-door neighbor. Kinbote and
Shade are also rumored to be in a relationship with each other, similar to the re-
lationship between Odon and the King. Overall, there exist many similarities
which tie Odon and Shade together.
The next couplet that will be examined are Shade and Kinbote. Shade and
Kinbote have very many obvious similarities, such as that they’re both writers
that teach at a university and they both share the same birthday. However, there
are some subtle lines throughout the book that relate the two to each other even
more. For example, the King’s (Kinbote’s) landing in America directly coincided
with the day John Shade had his first heart attack (246). It is known that being
up at higher elevations (such as being on a plane) puts an enormous amount of
strain on the heart, increasing the risk of heart problems. This evidence makes it
100