17.-harlem-renaissance 19.-leadership 2.-identity 20th-century 20th-century-american-literature african-american african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-history african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist alienation allegory ambiguity ambition america american-dream american-fiction american-history american-identity american-literature american-society art assimilation authenticity autobiographical baptism betrayal bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-lives-matter black-power blindness blues brotherhood civil-rights civil-rights-movement class-struggle coming-of-age complexity conformity corruption cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-critique cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture deception dehumanization discrimination disillusionment double-consciousness dreams dual-identity dystopia education ellison empowerment enlightenment epiphany equality esoteric exclusion exile existentialism exploitation freedom harlem harlem-renaissance historical-fiction history identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality injustice institutionalized-racism integration intellectualism invisibility invisibility-cloak invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man invisible-man-(novel) invisible-protagonist invisible-society isolation jazz jazz-age jazz-music journey leadership literary-fiction literature loneliness loss loss-of-identity manipulation marginalization marginalized marxism modern-classic modernism motif narration narrator national-book-award novel oppression perception personal-freedom personal-narrative philosophy political political-satire politics postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice privilege protagonist protest protest-literature psychological-insight quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-injustice racial-oppression racial-prejudice racial-segregation racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison rebellion repression resilience resistance satire search-for-meaning searching-for-identity searching-for-meaning segregation self-discovery self-empowerment social-alienation social-class social-commentary social-conformity social-constraints social-criticism social-equality social-hierarchy social-inequality social-injustice social-integration social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice social-mobility social-norms societal-expectations society society-and-culture southern southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states stereotype stereotypes struggle subjugation subversion surrealism survival symbolism the-american-dream the-black-experience the-harlem-renaissance underground unseen urban-life white-supremacy writing-style