Native Son parallels

From the first pages of this novel, I was struck with the thought of how it parallels so much with Richard Wright's Native Son (by the way, if you haven't read this book... read it). As it is also a book written during the Naturalist period, it is heavy with Determinism and Darwin's theories. At one point in Native Son, Bigger (the main character) is asked by his lawyer if he was surprised that he is in the position he's in (don't want to give away the story) and Bigger tells him that he feels as though he was always destined to be there. I can't help but see Bigger as Bub grown up given the circumstances later in the novel.