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An important technique employed in Native Son is a third-person-limited narrative structure. This technique reveals all the action in the novel but limits it to the perspective of the central character. The narrative voice, then, takes on the vantage point of—but does not become—Bigger Thomas. Consequently, other characters appear flat because they are visible only through this limiting filter. One advantage of this technique is that the reader becomes close to the protagonist. In other words, since the point of the novel is to reveal the mind of a dehumanized black man cornered in the ghetto, the reader must identify with Bigger. Wright wanted readers to understand how hostile the American environment is to those who have already been excluded based on skin color. In Native Son, Wright suggests that environmental conditions play a role in Bigger’s psychodrama. Bigger sees the Dalton’s neighborhood as "a cold and distant world." He learns that Mr. Dalton owns the South Side Real Estate Company, which in turn owns the decrepit house in which his family lives. During the trial, Max confronts Mr. Dalton, charging that the inadequate housing he rents to blacks contributes to their oppression. A sense of claustrophobia pervades the work. Bigger’s family is crowded into a rat-infested room. His hangouts include the street, where he feels like a rat. At one point, Bigger admits to feeling "bottled up" in the city like a "wild animal." He also feels that the "white world sprawled and towered" above him. The murder occurs when Bigger is trapped in Mary’s room. As Bigger flees the police manhunt, a record-breaking snowfall hits, blocking all roads in and out of Chicago and trapping Bigger in the city. The novel ends with Bigger alone in a small prison cell. The drama of Bigger Thomas plays out in much the same way as the opening drama of the rat’s death. Both Bigger and the rat find themselves trapped, leaving them little choice but to fight for survival. The rat is closely associated with the decrepit environment that constitutes ghetto life. The novel consistently reveals the psychology of Bigger as being similar to the rat, caught in the confines of a "narrow circle, looking for a place to hide…." Conversely, the white cat at the Dalton house symbolizes the justice system of the whites. Bigger does not like this cat because of the attention it draws to him when it lands on his shoulder. When the cat will not easily go away, the reader senses Bigger’s eventual capture. Bigger himself reflects on the degree to which those around him see the predicament of blacks and whites. Mrs. Dalton is blind, literally and metaphor- ically. She cannot see that her desire for Bigger to further his education is not what he wants from life. The rest of the family is blind to its own biases. The family’s claim of having liberal politics is undercut by Max’s charge that Mr. Dalton perpetuates the "black belt." The name Dalton ironically recalls daltonism—color blindness.
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