20th-century african-american african-american-author african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-history african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist alienation ambiguity ambition america american-dream american-fiction american-history american-identity american-literature american-society art assimilation authenticity autobiographical betrayal bigotry bildungsroman biography black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-lives-matter black-power blind blindchildren blinded-vision blues brotherhood child civil-rights civil-rights-movement class-struggle coming-of-age complexity conformity control corruption cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture deception dehumanization developingcountries disabledpersons discrimination disillusionment double-consciousness dreams dystopia education ellison empowerment enlightenment epiphany equality exile existentialism exploitation eye eyediseases france freedom harlem harlem-renaissance historical history identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality infant injustice institutionalized-racism intellectualism invisibility invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man invisible-man-(novel) isolation jazz jazz-age jazz-music journey language leadership literary-fiction literature loss loss-of-identity manipulation marginalization marginalized marxism modern-classic modernism narration narrator national-book-award novel olderblindpeople olderpeoplewithvisualdisabilities opportunity oppression perception personal-freedom personal-narrative philosophy planning political political-satire politics postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice prevention protagonist protest protest-literature quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-oppression racial-prejudice racial-segregation racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison rebellion rehabilitation resistance search-for-meaning searching-for-identity segregation self-discovery self-empowerment servicesfor 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 socialaspects societal-expectations society sociopolitical southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states stereotype stereotypes struggle subjugation subversion surrealism survival symbolism the-american-dream the-black-experience themes touchperception underground unitedstates unseen urban-life vision visualperception w.e.b.-du-bois white-supremacy wr102p297sa2016