Franklin H. Wheeler is a young, good-looking man and the novel’s main protagonist. He is living the American Dream: He owns a home (a white house on a hill), has a stunningly beautiful wife, and has two children. He lives in the suburbs of Connecticut and commutes to his job in New York City. Though it appears that he has the perfect life, beneath the façade are many cracks.

Frank is, for all intents and purposes, a classic example of a literary antihero because he easily succumbs to external pressures. For example, Frank does not actually want to conform to societal expectations and live the 1950s ideal of the American Dream. Life in the suburbs was “forced” upon him when April became pregnant with their first child. Before her pregnancy, Frank was happy leading a student/intellectual life exploring philosophy and literature. Even though his job was only supposed to be temporary, it quickly becomes permanent, and he and April move to the suburbs and buy a house for their family. This is something neither of them truly wanted; they were happier in their apartment in New York City.

Frank continues for a long time to fight against the life he has chosen.