achievement african-american african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist alienation ambiguity ambition american-dream american-history american-identity american-literature anxiety art aspirations assimilation autobiographical ballet betrayal bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-power blindness blues breast brotherhood career censorship children'sfiction civil-rights civil-rights-movement class class-struggle college coming-of-age comparison competition consumerism cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-critique cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture dance deception dehumanization discrimination disillusionment double-consciousness dreams dystopia education empowerment equality exile existentialism experience exploitation fame fear fiction freedom fulfillment general happiness harlem harlem-renaissance higher-education highschools history identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality injustice insecurity intellectualism invisibility invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man isolation jazz jazz-music journey juvenilefiction large-breastedwomen leadership literature loss loss-of-identity marginalization marginalized materialism modern-classic modern-life modern-society modernism narrator national-book-award novel oppression personal-development personal-freedom personal-growth personal-narrative philosophy philosophy-of-life political politics postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice pressure protagonist protest psychology purpose quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-oppression racial-prejudice racial-segregation racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison rebellion resistance schools search-for-meaning searching-for-identity segregation self-discovery self-empowerment self-help self-improvement self-reflection self-worth sexism social-alienation social-class social-commentary social-comparison social-conformity social-criticism social-equality social-hierarchy social-inequality social-injustice social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice social-norms social-status socialcontrol societal-expectations societal-norms societal-pressure societal-pressures society sociology southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states status status-anxiety stereotypes student student-life subjugation subversion success surrealism survival symbolism the-american-dream the-harlem-renaissance underground university unseen urban-life w.e.b.-du-bois wealth white-supremacy