Another Country: Motifs 3 key examples

The geographical boundaries that Baldwin’s characters navigate within New York City are mirrors of the racial and cultural divides that define their lives.  Harlem—where Rufus comes from and where much of the novel's action happens— was and is an area of the city strongly associated with Black cultural identity. In the novel, life in Harlem is affected by systemic oppression and economic hardship but is also enormously enriched by the cultural and artistic innovations of the Black community. In contrast, Greenwich Village is a bohemian, predominantly White world that both attracts and alienates Rufus. It contains art and music in the same way Harlem does, but they are pale imitations of what Rufus finds at home. These divisions show how physical spaces even within a few square miles can reinforce societal hierarchies. A character’s relationship to a place provides a sense of belonging or exclusion depending on their identity. The reader also sees this with Eric's return to the South and during his time in France.

Emotional boundaries also play a significant role in the novel, as characters fight to connect authentically despite the many barriers between them. Rufus’s relationship with Leona is the clearest and earliest example of this tension, though it factors into almost every other relationship too. Every interaction Rufus and Leona have is dense with racial subtext and the mulling-over of real or imagined differences. Rufus imagines their sexual encounters as moments where he subdues Leona specifically and Whiteness in general. When he beats her, he’s also lashing out at both of these foes. Similarly, the friendships and romantic entanglements between other characters—such as Ida and Vivaldo—are fraught with misunderstandings. Despite Ida and Vivaldo sharing a love of music, art, and almost everything else important to them, the aftereffects of racial prejudice and personal trauma create high hurdles they cannot seem to overcome. By exploring the consequences of these boundaries and others like them, Baldwin critiques a society unwilling to bridge its divisions or unable to see how. Each person, regardless of how close people are, is "another country" to everyone else.

For example, having been beaten down by the world around him, Rufus decides to  jump from the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River in Chapter 2. His desperate leap into the black waters of the river is both a physical and emotional submission to drowning in his pain. By his own will, he is literally and figuratively overwhelmed by the Hudson.

Although all of Baldwin’s characters need water to survive, it's also inherently threatening. Because much of the story takes place on the island of Manhattan, Baldwin’s characters are surrounded by water at all times. The rivers and the ocean are a literal and metaphorical boundary separating Rufus, Vivaldo, and their companions from the outside world around them. Manhattan becomes a microcosm of America as a whole. It's a place where both joy and prejudice are amplified because it's sealed off by water on all sides.

Further, water behaves differently depending on where characters are. Baldwin contrasts the harshness of urban life with the quieter rhythms of Eric’s experiences in the American South. In New York City the Hudson and the Harlem River seem vast and rushing. They are cold, dark, utilitarian rivers, which—although beautiful from a distance—don’t generally bring any sense of peace to the characters who interact with them. Rufus describes seeing his first death as a child when another boy drowned in the Harlem River, which he then tragically repeats by leaping into the Hudson himself. However, in the countryside, streams and rivers can be sites of peace and pleasure. Instead of submerging bodies, their ambient sound and beautiful scenery help to conceal things people wish to keep private. LeRoy and Eric have a loving encounter in a secret place they find by the banks of a stream, hidden away from prying eyes that would condemn both their homosexuality and the idea of Eric’s friendship with a Black boy. 

Jazz music originated in the early 20th century within Black communities in America. It was considered very culturally subversive at the time, as it was also associated with nightlife and blended elements of blues, ragtime, and gospel to form a completely new sound. Jazz is primarily characterized by its use of improvisation and “riffing,” where pre-existing melodies are improvised on and extended. It’s also known for its stirring, syncopated percussion lines. Jazz as it's known today encompasses a wide range of styles from swing to fusion, is widely played on the radio, and doesn’t seem particularly scandalous. However, at the time of writing, jazz music was considered subversive and revolutionary, and the people who played it and danced to it risked criticism and even arrest for disturbing the peace. It’s a uniquely Black art form, as musicians in Harlem—and other American communities primarily populated by African Americans—produced some of the first and best-known jazz musicians and songs.

The improvisational element of jazz reflects the often unpredictable nature of Baldwin's characters’ lives and relationships. As melodies would in a jazz performance, their commitments and desires shift rapidly between harmony and discord. The repeating refrains or lines of song that recur throughout the novel also mostly come from the jazz tradition; they too reflect the repetitive patterns of behavior Baldwin’s characters cannot escape.