Spring Break Extra Credit Blog

The novels we have read in class all deal with identity and in some form all tie into each other. It seems like there is always conflict with a character that has trouble finding them and by the end of the story, they have found meaning in who they truly are. It is interesting to me to see the breakdown of each character and what obstacles they have to overcome in order to achieve success. All of the characters in Another Country, seem to all “feel” a certain way. Eric “feels” that he is homosexual and Rufus “feels” he is black living in a white person’s world. They are all tied together in that they don’t realize they all feel strongly about what really exists. They all believe they live in different worlds when in reality, they are all struggling to find who they really are. Rufus has the most trouble finding who he is because he deals with issues on a deeper and eventually it gets to him so much that he ends up killing himself. The setting in New York City is interesting because when you think of a big city, you think of all the different kinds of people and culture. The issue of race back then was heavily affected. In the story, Rufus encounters a police officer coming out of the restaurant and the police officer stares him down. Rufus gets discriminated because of his color. Another scene in the story is when he is walking with Leona and Vivaldo and a young couple walks by and stares at Leona wondering which man was with her. One of the more serious scenes is when Vivaldo comes over to Rufus’s place and Leona has been beaten by Rufus. Leona says that Rufus thought she was looking at other black men. Rufus’s insecurities lead him down a path of sadness and hate. His friendship also is tested when Vivaldo suggests that Leona stay with him until Rufus figures himself out. Rufus accuses him of stealing his girl. All of the struggles in this story deals with individuality but at the same time, everyone is going through the same thing. . Reading this story also gave me a new perspective on the issue of class. Cass and Richard seem to be on a path of success with Richard’s new book, but Cass doesn’t like the things it comes with like all the dinner parties and all the fancy people that come over. Also the issue of moving is brought up and Richard wants to move, but Cass wants them to stay in the city. Although Cass and Richard have the most in common, they are the ones that have a lot of conflict. This was one of the best stories I have read and enjoyed analyzing and comparing the characters and tying into our class and the issue of identity. There comes a point in everyone’s life where their identity is tested whether it be a relationship, family, or friends. It seems as you get older your values stay the same but what changes is your identity.