Native Son, authored by Richard Wright, is set in Chicago during the 1930s. The powerful narrative offers an unflinching look at the struggles faced by people living in inner cities across America and delves deeply into what it means to be black in America. The protagonist, Bigger Thomas, finds himself destined for prison from the very beginning, entangled in a web of fate that leads him down a path fraught with peril after he commits murder and rape under a momentary lapse of judgment. Wright’s novel is a poignant exploration of racial injustice, societal constraints, and individual agency within the confines of systemic oppression.