Isolation in Another CountryAnother Country is perhaps the only novel of its time in which every character suffers from a feeling of isolation. All the main characters share the feeling of isolation. Whether the character's isolation is the result of race, economic status, or even sexual orientation, each character's life is affected. The feeling of isolation causes the characters to lose contact with reality. This isolation is evident in Rufus' story. Rufus is a young black jazz musician growing up in Harlem, a young black man who fights "the system" to achieve his dreams. Later in the novel, Rufus reveals his inner turmoil. Rufus feels isolated from society. He knows, but is unable to accept, the racial barrier between himself and his only close friend, Vivaldo. Vivaldo is a true friend, but despite their friendship, Rufus has a constant feeling of resentment towards Vivaldo. Rufus is tormented by thoughts like “No one dared look at Vivaldo, out with any girl, the way they looked at me now;…That's because Vivaldo was white” (Baldwin 31). The racial isolation is compounded when Rufus breaks all family ties to support his interracial relationship. Knowing his family's open disapproval of interracial relationships, Rufus decides to leave his family and live with his girlfriend, Leona. Despite his deep love for Leona, her presence constantly reminds him of the barrier that separates them. It becomes, in his mind, a symbol of the society that oppressed him. He becomes the symbol of the things he could never achieve in life. As his life wears on, he sinks into the depths of despair, committing horrendous crimes against his loved ones. Rufus refuses his friends' help. He turns to street life and eventually jumps off a bridge. Before Rufus' death, Baldwin recounts: His loneliness, amplified millions of times, made the night air colder. He remembered what excesses, what traps and nightmares, his solitude had pushed him into; and he wondered where such a violent void could push an entire city. (60) Vivaldo, Rufus' close friend, comes to terms with his own form of isolation. The product of a dysfunctional Brooklyn family, Vivaldo felt he had never been loved; therefore, he forces himself into loveless relationships. In these relationships she establishes a barrier between herself and her friends. Vivaldo seems to be looking for love in the wrong places: on street corners and in bars.