16thcentury 1915-2005 20th-century african-american african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-history african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist alienation ambiguity ambition american-dream american-fiction american-history american-identity american-literature american-society americandrama(dramaticworksbyoneauthor) art assimilation autobiographical betrayal bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature blindness blues brotherhood catholicchurch christianity churchhistory civil-rights civil-rights-movement class-struggle classicliterature coldwar coming-of-age communism complexity confirmation conformity contemptofcourt corruption cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture deception dehumanization discrimination disillusionment doop double-consciousness dreams dystopia earlychristian earlychurch ellison empowerment england enlightenment episcopalchurch equality exile existentialism exploitation fiction fictionclassics freedom harlem harlem-renaissance histoire history historyandcriticism historyofdoctrines identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality initiationrites injustice inliterature institutionalized-racism invisibility invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man invisible-man-(novel) invisible-protagonist invisible-society isolation jazz jazz-age jazz-music journey kingphilip'swar leadership literary-fiction literarycriticism literature longnowmanualforcivilization lord'ssupper loss loss-of-identity manipulation marginalization marginalized martyrs miller modernism narrator national-book-award novel oppression perception personal-freedom personal-narrative philosophy political politics poppets post-worldwariisociety postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice pressing protagonist protest puritains quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-oppression racial-prejudice racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison readinglevel-grade12 religiousaspects resilience resistance sacraments satanism search-for-meaning searching-for-identity segregation self-discovery self-empowerment social-alienation social-class social-commentary social-conformity social-criticism social-equality social-hierarchy social-inequality social-injustice social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice social-mobility social-norms societal-expectations society southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states stereotype stereotypes subjugation subversion surrealism survival symbolism tencommandments the-american-dream the-black-experience trials trials(witchcraft) trials(witchcraft)inliterature underground unseen urban-life white-supremacy witchcraftinliterature witchhunting