1.-african-american-literature 10.-segregation 11.-double-consciousness 12.-betrayal 13.-power-dynamics 14.-individuality 15.-symbolism 16.-oppression 17.-harlem-renaissance 18.-quest-for-self-discovery 19.-leadership 1940s 1950s 2.-identity 20.-sociology. 20th-century 20th-century-american-literature 20th-century-literature 3.-racism 4.-social-injustice 5.-coming-of-age 6.-american-history 7.-invisible-identity 8.-discrimination 9.-alienation african-american african-american-author african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-history african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist african-americans africanamerican africanamericanmen africanamericans afrofuturism alienation allegory ambiguity ambition america american-classic american-dream american-fiction american-history american-identity american-literature american-literature. american-society american-south americanfiction(fictionalworksbyoneauthor) art assimilation authenticity autobiographical autobiographical-elements award:national_book_award=1953 award:national_book_award=fiction baptism battle-for-equality battle-for-self-discovery betrayal bigotry bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-lives-matter black-nationalism black-power black-protest blinded-vision blindness blues blues-music brotherhood children'sfiction civil-rights civil-rights-movement class-struggle classic-literature classics collective-memory collectivism collegesuccess coming-of-age coming-of-age. complex-narrative complexity complexity-of-human-nature concealment conformity consciousness corruption creativity cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-critique cultural-disillusionment cultural-heritage cultural-identity cultural-significance culture deception dehumanization dignity discrimination disillusionment dislocation diversity double-consciousness dreams dual-identity duality dystopia dystopian-fiction education ellison emancipation empowerment english enlightenment epiphany epistolary-novel equality esoteric ethnicity exclusion exile existentialism existentialism. experience exploitation fear fiction freedom frustration general grandfathers-words harlem harlem-renaissance hatred historical historical-fiction history hollowness hope human-rights hypocrisy identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality inequity injustice inner-journey institutional-racism institutionalized-racism integration intellectualism introspection invisibility invisibility-as-a-metaphor invisibility-cloak invisibility-metaphor invisibility-theme invisibility-theory invisibility-vs-visibility invisible invisible-community invisible-identities invisible-identity invisible-man invisible-man-(novel) invisible-protagonist invisible-society invisible-undergrounds isolation jazz jazz-age jazz-influence jazz-music jim-crow-era journey leadership literary literary-classic literary-fiction literature loneliness longnowmanualforcivilization loss loss-of-identity manhood manipulation marginality marginalization marginalized marginalized-voices marxism masculinity mentallyill modern-classic modernism modernist-literature modernliterature motif multiculturalism narration narrative-style narrator national-book-award nationalbookawardwinner new-york-city newyorktimesreviewed nihilism novel open_syllabus_project opportunity oppression patriotism perception personal-freedom personal-identity personal-narrative philosophy political political-activism political-commentary political-critique political-movement political-satire politics postcolonial-literature postcolonialism postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle power-struggle. prejudice privilege prohibition protagonist protest protest-literature protest. protests psychological-alienation psychological-insight psychological-journey psychologicalfiction pursuit-of-identity pursuit-of-personal-freedom pursuit-of-self quest quest-for-authenticity quest-for-self quest-for-self-discovery race race-relations racerelations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-injustice racial-oppression racial-politics racial-prejudice racial-segregation racial-stereotypes racial-stereotyping racism ralph-ellison realism rebellion rebirth recognition reflection repression resilience resistance satire scientists search-for-meaning search-for-self searching-for-identity searching-for-meaning searching-for-purpose segregation self-discovery self-empowerment self-identity social-activism social-alienation social-class social-commentaries social-commentary social-conformity social-constraints social-criticism social-critique social-disillusionment social-dynamics social-equality social-hierarchy social-inequality social-injustice social-integration social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice social-mobility social-norms social-protest social-realism socialconditions societal-expectations societal-norms societal-perception societal-pressures society society-and-culture sociopolitical southern southern-america southern-culture southern-gothic southern-literature southern-migration southern-segregation southern-united-states spectatorship stereotype stereotypes struggle subjugation subversion surreal surrealism surrealism. surrealistic-imagery survival symbolism symbols the-american-dream the-black-experience the-great-depression the-harlem-renaissance the-human-condition the-other the-quest-for-truth the-south themes truth twentieth-century-america twentieth-century-literature underground underground-culture unseen urban-life urbanlife violence visibility voice w.e.b.-du-bois white-supremacy writing-style