Reconfiguration Of Race And Sexuality In James Baldwin's Another Country

This M.A. thesis aims to examine the reconfiguration of race and sexuality in James Baldwin's third novel Another Country. Being considered one of the most prestigious writers in contemporary American literature, Baldwin engages a series of topics in his works, such as racial matters, interracial pairings, sexual identity confusion, notions of manhood, homophobia, and self-hatred. Alongside reading of Another Country and some of his essays and other fictions, I trace in this thesis the ways in which he transcends the Wrightian protest in reconfiguring the topic of"race"and how he braves the taboo of same-sex eroticism in African-American literary writing in reconfiguring the topic of"sexuality". I demonstrate that according to Baldwin, rigid racial categories and stereotyped definition of sexual orientation are the very reasons that lead to all the sufferings his characters go through, and also, to the death of Rufus, the only black male character in the novel. I argue that Baldwin intends to inform his readers that there should not be hierarchical oppositions between black and white, or between different sexual preferences. Blind racial hostility and rigid sexual categorization are the root of pain in his novel. And I conclude that Baldwin yearns for"another country"that will be free of the socially-determined categories of race and sexuality by displaying the hostility of the New York City in which his characters struggle for survival.The first chapter explores Baldwin's unswerving standpoint of anti-racism in racial matters. Though there is no definite category that Baldwin belongs to in terms of his racial dynamics, he is firmly against any form of racism and is a staunch champion of racial equality. Baldwin incisively goes beyond the circumscription of Wright's angry ideology, makes a clear distinction between his own racial politics and that of black nationalists, and sets up a unique perspective of racial matters.The second chapter probes into the relationships of two interracial couples in the novel: Rufus and Leona (the man of color and the white woman), Ida and Vivaldo (the black woman and the white man). Rufus is seized with the black panic and fear of being lynched for aligning himself with a white woman. His smashed black super-masculine ego disables him from loving, while Ida, intent on revenge for her dead brother, views Vivaldo as an impediment on her way to a successful singing career. Through the analysis of these two interracial relationships, it becomes evident that the rigid racial categories have branded themselves into the consciousness of the characters and deprived both blacks and whites of the ability of free communication and mutual understanding across the races.The third chapter studies Baldwin's homosexual issue by exemplifying two homosexual relationships in the novel: Rufus and Eric; Rufus and Vivaldo. The internalized homophobia and the inflated black masculine self prevent Rufus from admitting his homosexual inclinations. He ridicules Eric's love for him and engages himself in a relentless competition of sexual power with Vivaldo. Rufus's repugnance against homosexual affections derives from a hostile social environment for homosexuals. Baldwin blends sexuality with race in his novel and argues against the categorization of people's racial or sexual identity.The fourth chapter illustrates that New York, with its suffocating racial and sexual cultures, is the place where Rufus commits suicide, where Leona becomes institutionalized, and where Ida leads a revenge-oriented life. It is a city that pushes Richard on his pursuit of a commercial success instead of real art. It is a city that makes Cass hesitate to leave her"successful"husband who she doesn't love any more. Paris is the symbol of an ideal city where people can shake off the chains and burdens imposed on them by those stereotyped racial and sexual identity categories.The last part sums up Baldwin's racial and sexual politics as embodied in the novel. It also examines briefly the symbolic meaning of the title of the book"another country", suggesting Baldwin's hope of living in a society where racial equality and sexual orientation freedom can be realized.