Another Country: Book 1, Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

Evidently, Rufus has performed military service for a country that is now failing to serve him. However, his time in the military did give him a chance to see the world and discover that not everywhere is like the United States. The shawl he buys for Ida shows him that there are places in the world where dark skin is admired and celebrated rather than demonized and discriminated against.

Again, Rufus is able to hear the pain and rage that goes into the saxophonist’s music—pain and rage that, the novel implies, a white audience might not be able to discern. The nature of artistic expression is another important theme in the novel and each major character has a different relationship to art. For Rufus, art is a primal expression of rage and fear.

Leona’s presence surprises Rufus because everything about her tells him she does not belong in the jazz club. Perhaps it is this exact fact that draws him to her. More than anything else, he seems to care about her physical appearance. Meanwhile, Leona’s feelings and motivations regarding Rufus are largely unclear, as Baldwin does not allow the reader the same level of access to her thoughts and feelings.

Leona is completely out of her comfort zone; she does not know anybody, she likely does not know much about jazz, and she has almost no exposure to New York City. Everything is new and wonderful but also frightening. Meanwhile, Rufus is jaded toward the city and treats his time with Leona like just another random night in Harlem.

Leona dodges Rufus’s question and responds with her personal feelings about race rather than providing a direct response to Rufus’s question, which would probably confirm his worst fears about where she comes from. Although Rufus cares to some extent what Leona thinks about Black people, she is only interested in her for the night, so he does not care to delve deeper into her past or her political and cultural opinions.

Here, Rufus behaves like a social butterfly and although he is not completely comfortable in his own skin, he is a far cry from the broken and alienated man that appears in the opening of the novel. Although he dislikes Jane, he is playful about it, calling her “grandma.” There is a levity to his behavior here that is not present elsewhere.

The memory of a boy drowning in the Harlem River is just one example of why New York City does not hold the same allure for Rufus as it does for Leona. For Leona, the city represents future possibilities, while for Rufus, it is full of reminders of the past, many of which are painful.

Here, Rufus’s character takes a dark turn. Up until this point, Rufus was a sympathetic figure who was easy to root for, especially in the face of America’s overwhelming racial prejudice. However, here, his sexual advances turn predatory; he not only does not care if Leona struggles, but he actively encourages it. Rufus’s behavior toward Leona will come up repeatedly throughout the rest of the novel, as will the question of whether or not he is a redeemable figure.

Rufus’s sexual urges are all-encompassing; while penetrating Leona, everything else fades away. Meanwhile, Leona’s response to what feels like rape from Rufus’s perspective further complicates the scene. Leona’s comment suggests she wanted Rufus to behave as he did, though she never said as much to him. Whether Leona is playing out a fantasy or retroactively trying to reduce the mental damage from a traumatic event is difficult to say. However, it is clear that Rufus was aware of his own aggressiveness and embraced the idea of violating Leona.

The relationship forming between Rufus and Leona is doomed from the start. Rufus is someone who ostensibly gets off on abusing others, and Leona is a woman with a history of being abused. Rufus knows he should resist pursuing Leona, but the opening of the novel already informed the reader that he will not do so.

Again, it is difficult to know Leona’s perspective in all of this because Baldwin does not reveal much about her innermost thoughts in the same way he does for Rufus. However, for reasons that are far from obvious, she seems to like and trust Rufus. Unfortunately, it appears as though Leona is running away from a troubled past into and even bleaker future.

Alcohol is a constant presence in the novel. All of the main characters drink regularly, often to excess. Sometimes their drinking leads to positive interactions, but most of the time, it causes a lot of poor behavior and decision making. Generally speaking, Baldwin’s characters consume alcohol and drugs to rid themselves of pain and stress, only to end up with more pain and stress.

Rufus’s pang of jealousy speaks to a deep insecurity that is at the root of his character. Society has told him that he does not deserve to be with a white woman, and he fears a white man will come and take her away.

The way Vivaldo speaks to Rufus suggests that he has seen this pattern play out before and already knows where it is headed. He senses that Rufus lusts after Leona but does not love her. Meanwhile, Rufus is too enamored with the present situation to have thought about what he wants from Leona.

Rufus worries about his relationship not only because of what white people will think, but also because of what Black people will think. He feels he is a no-win situation, which will further alienate him from a society that he believes is already hostile toward him. As of yet, Leona is unaware of the hostility Rufus feels, though given its prevalence, it is only a matter of time before she finds herself facing similar pressures.

This moment suggests that Rufus has bounced around between many different social circles without ever finding one where he feels like he fits in. Meanwhile, Vivaldo seems plenty comfortable talking to people from his past.

Baldwin leaves open the possibility that some of the persecution Rufus experiences is in his head. However, some of it—and perhaps even most of it—is definitely not in his head, and the more explicit prejudice Rufus faces, the more jaded he becomes. By forcing readers to discern which aspects of bigotry are genuinely playing out and which ones might be in Rufus’s head, Baldwin puts readers in the position that a Black man in Rufus’s circumstances often finds himself in—circumstances that force him to constantly second-guess himself because of the surrounding world’s refusal to acknowledge its racism. To that end, Rufus is deeply envious of Vivaldo, who interacts with the world without ever needing to think about such things.

Here, it is obvious that Rufus does not like Jane, but his teasing is largely playful. Meanwhile, Jane’s response is condescending, possibly because of Rufus’s race. To her, he is only a jazz musician who does not appreciate “real” art. Any authority Jane possesses is completely undercut by Vivaldo, a “serious” artist—not to mention her boyfriend—who is willing to mock her.

Although nothing gets said explicitly regarding race, Baldwin suggests that the Irishman steps in and fights Rufus and Vivaldo because he sees a Black man upsetting a white woman. Jane is completely oblivious to this subtext—either because of ignorance, drunkenness, or both—and does not recognize the consequences her actions will have on Rufus and Vivaldo.

Rufus does not utilize social systems that are supposed to be available to everyone because he fears racial prejudice. Only as a last resort does he allow Jane to take Vivaldo to the hospital. Again, this speaks the ways in which 1960s America failed Black people.

Although Vivaldo and Rufus are good friends, there are some subjects they evidently do not broach with each other. Indeed, Jane will continue to be a sticking point in their relationship throughout the novel.

Nearly every main character in the book is an artist or has a relationship to art. Vivaldo and Richard are both writers engaged in the act of crafting a novel—the premier literary genre of the time. Generally speaking, the American public considered novels a high-brow form of art in the second half of the 20th century, though opinion changed depending on the type of novel. Some engaged in the act of novel-writing, such as Vivaldo and Richard, were generally trying to appeal to an upper-class audience—unlike Rufus, who plays for whomever wants to listen.

Because Rufus is insecure about his relationships with Vivaldo and Cass, he latches himself on to Leona. While Cass and Vivaldo might care about him, he fears their concern is only temporary, and they will soon go away like the rest of his former friends whom he saw around the park.

Here, Rufus is contemplating whether or not he should engage in sex work for food. Although it is still unclear what happened to him following his relationship with Leona, he has apparently lost his housing and has no money. Presumably, he is no longer playing music any more as well.

Baldwin emphasizes the putrid odor of everyone and everything involved in the scene to demonstrate the extent of Rufus’s desperation and the magnitude of his discomfort. Ultimately, Rufus cannot bring himself to go through with the sex act; he is too worn down and would rather take his chances running away if need be. Though previously, Rufus was a sexual predator himself, now he has become the prey. He is a complicated figure whom Baldwin asks his reader to empathize with despite his uglier side.

This is the first mention of Eric, who will eventually become a key player in the novel, even though he appears to be a minor figure here. Rufus’s relationship with Eric suggests that he has a pattern of mistreating his romantic partners. He also seems to struggle with feelings of insecurity regarding his sexual identity and rather than dealing with them, he projects them on to Eric.

Previously, Rufus feared his friends would abandon him, but it seems like he is the one who abandoned them. Despite Rufus’s appearance, Vivaldo still embraces him immediately and treats him like a friend. Meanwhile, Rufus still trusts Vivaldo enough to reveal that he had to resort to sex work, which he presumably finds shameful and upsetting.

Rufus feels truly alone in the world, unsure of whether he has any friends or family left to help him. Although Vivaldo tries to persuade him otherwise, Rufus has a hard time getting over his feelings of inadequacy and alienation.

Rufus does not think a change of scenery will help him for two reasons: first, his race will always pose a problem, no matter where he goes; second, the thing he struggles with most is his past behavior, which will follow him wherever he goes. Additionally, if he moves, he will have no friends and family, much like Leona when she first came to New York. This passage also serves as build up for the reveal of what Rufus did to Leona. Both he and Vivaldo have mentioned it several times at this point without saying it explicitly, suggesting that whatever it was, it was pretty bad.

Leona’s words suggest that she understood Rufus’s feelings of inadequacy regarding his race. At the time, Black people would have considered “colored” an acceptable and even polite term, so there is no intentional malice in what Leona says. However, Rufus does not like that Leona recognizes his insecurities, and he gets revenge by treating her terribly.

Despite Rufus’s despicable behavior, Vivaldo still has sympathy for him and wants to help him if he can. Essentially, these flashbacks show Rufus slowly ruining Leona’s life. He harmed her physically and emotionally and cost her a job. Not having a job is bad for Leona, not only because she will not have financial independence, but also because it means spending more time with Rufus.

Rufus’s jealousy, which seemed like a minor issue, has turned into a major one. Again, there is a sense that his jealousy regarding Leona’s interest in other men is at least partially related to his feelings about his race. Meanwhile, even though Rufus is Vivaldo’s friend first and foremost, he has gone too far this time and Vivaldo has no choice but to remove Leona from the situation. He knows that mentioning the authorities will strike fear in Rufus and invokes them only as a last resort.

It is hard to tell whether or not Rufus is issuing empty threats. On the one hand, Vivaldo manages to get Leona outside before Rufus can do her any more harm. On the other hand, Rufus has already demonstrated that he is capable of cruel and extreme violence. Despite everything Rufus has done to her, Leona cannot help but care for him, much like Vivaldo.

Now that Jane is safe, Vivaldo can return his attention to Rufus. Although Vivaldo may not fully comprehend his friend’s struggle, he knows that life has been unfair to him and wants to help him in any way that he can. In particular, Vivaldo is sensitive to the issue of race and is smart enough to know what he does not know regarding the Black experience in America. If nothing else, he figures, Rufus is in desperate need of a friend, which is something he can provide.

Vivaldo’s interaction with this couple highlights the ways in which interracial relationships are stigmatized not only by white people but also by Black people. The scam is meant not only to embarrass Vivaldo but also to teach him a lesson about getting romantically involved—at least from the husband’s point of view. The wife is more forgiving and even goes against her husband’s wishes to give Vivaldo some money because she feels bad for him. The memory comes to Vivaldo as he approaches Rufus’s apartment because he views it as a microcosm for interracial love and sex in America.

Vivaldo does not think Rufus will actually try to hurt him; otherwise, he probably would not have come back in the first place. Rather, the knife is a sign of Rufus’s desperation; he feels all alone in the world, and the knife is a way to defend himself rather than an offensive weapon.

Here, Rufus shares all of his complicated feelings about race in America. Everything he says to Vivaldo are things he never manages to articulate to Leona. Whether or not Rufus is correct about how Leona treats him is hard to say. However, she did choose to go to a Black jazz club for her first night in New York City and then behaved oddly during their first sexual encounter. It is difficult for Rufus to tell if she is a genuine ally to Black people or someone who behaves that way for her own titillation.

As it turns out, Vivaldo’s romantic life is not much better than Rufus’s in terms of its success rate, so he may not be of much help. However, he correctly senses that if Rufus continues seeing Leona, it is only going to make matters worse. However, despite everything Rufus has said about Leona and done to her, he cannot help himself.

Here, Baldwin reveals the primary reason for Rufus’s guilt. Because of his abhorrent behavior, authorities had to institutionalize Leona, ruining her life and keeping her away from her children forever. If Rufus was already an unsympathetic character before, this detail pushes that sentiment to its limit. And yet, Baldwin still asks his reader to have sympathy for Rufus, just as Vivaldo does, even though Leona is obviously the more sympathetic character in this scene.

While Rufus is having one of the worst nights of his life, Richard and Cass are having one of their best. It is difficult to gauge how much Vivaldo cares about Richard and Cass. The last time he saw Cass, she was also asking him to come and visit them, and it does not sound like he has done so. After all, he appears surprised that Richard has completed and found a publisher for his novel. However, Richard and Cass appear fond of Vivaldo, as Richard trusts him enough to show him the novel even before it goes to print.

Although Cass does not know quite as much as Vivaldo about Rufus’s relationship with Leona, she knows enough that it is impressive for her to still be willing to extend him some sympathy. Like Vivaldo, Cass is sensitive to racial issues in America and has a sense of how they impact Rufus on a daily basis, especially in regard to his relationship with Leona. As such, she offers advice to Rufus, though it is unclear whether anything she says actually resonates with him.

Jane, like Richard, has also found success in her artistic endeavors. Like Cass and Richard, she is out celebrating, as Rufus continues to have one of the worst nights of his life. Feeling forgotten—and also not wanting to deal with Jane—Rufus sets out on his own. With Vivaldo distracted, Rufus is out of places to go, unless he decides to return home to Ida and his parents.

A key element of the novel—and in all of Baldwin’s writing, for that matter—is its practice of radical sympathy and empathy with other people, regardless of how poorly they behave. Baldwin knows he is asking a lot from his reader but feels that such a practice is necessary for repairing the social fabric of American society. In Rufus, Baldwin has created a character who suffers immensely and also causes other people to suffer immensely. He is a tragic figure that Baldwin presents as worthy of redemption and that some critics have even referred to as a modern-day Christ figure.