20th-century 20thcentury 20thcenturyamericanhistory african-american 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 bildungsroman biography black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-lives-matter black-power blindness blues brotherhood california canada civil-rights civil-rights-movement class-struggle coming-of-age complexity conformity corruption crime cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture deception dehumanization discrimination disillusionment distilling double-consciousness drama dreams drinkingofalcoholicbeverages drugabuse drugcontrol dystopia ellison empowerment enlightenment equality exile existentialism exploitation fiction freedom gangsters general governmentpolicy harlem harlem-renaissance historical-fiction history identity identity-crisis illicit individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality injustice institutionalized-racism intellectualism invisibility 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 literatureandfiction(general) loneliness loss loss-of-identity manipulation marginalization marginalized marxism modernism narration narrator national-book-award novel oppression perception personal-freedom personal-narrative philosophy 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-injustice racial-oppression racial-prejudice racial-segregation racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison rebellion resilience resistance satire search-for-meaning searching-for-identity segregation self-discovery self-empowerment smuggling 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 socialconditions sociallifeandcustoms societal-expectations society southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states stereotype stereotypes struggle subjugation subversion surrealism survival symbolism temperance the-american-dream the-black-experience underground unitedstates unseen urban-life violence white-supremacy writing-style