Native Son by Richard Wright, written by Richard Wright, is a novel set in the 1930s, when racism was most prevalent. Richard Wright focuses on the mistreatment and horrible stereotypes that characterize the black man in America. Bigger Thomas, the main character is a struggling young man who tries to live up to his family's expectations and maintain his reputation in his neighborhood. Wright's character suffers from low self-esteem and his lack of self-esteem is reflected in his behavior and his environment. Bigger seems to dream of doing better and making something of his future, but he is torn because he is constantly drawn into his dangerous and troublesome lifestyle. Bigger is consumed with fear and anger toward white people because racism has limited his options in life and subjected him and his family to poverty-stricken communities with little hope of change. The protagonist is ashamed of his family's bleak situation and fears the control that white people have over his life. His lack of control over his life makes him violent and depressed, causing Bigger to further play into the negative stereotypes that put him in the box of his expected role in a racist society. Wright beautifully shows the struggle that black people went through for their identity and the anger they felt due to their exclusion from society. Native Son by Richard Wright shows the main character's struggle to be invisible and alienated in an ignorant and blatantly racist American society negatively influenced by "the white man." The effects of racism can cause an individual to be subjected to unfair treatment and suffer psychological damage and harbor anger and resentment towards the oppressor. Bigger is a twenty-year-old man who lives in a cramped, rat-infested apartment with his mother and two younger siblings. Due to the racist real estate market, Bigger's family only demolished dilapidated projects on the south side of Chicago to live in. Poor and uneducated, Bigger has few options to improve the lives of himself and his family. Having been raised in the 1930s in racially prejudiced America, Bigg is burdened by the reality that he has no control over his life and can aspire to nothing more than menial work in as a servant. Or his other option which is petty crimes with his gang.