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 black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-lives-matter black-power blinded-vision 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 dislocation diversity double-consciousness dreams dual-identity dystopia ellison empowerment enlightenment equality esoteric exile existentialism experience exploitation freedom harlem harlem-renaissance historical-fiction history human-rights identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality injustice institutionalized-racism 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 multiculturalism narration narrator national-book-award novel oppression perception personal-freedom personal-narrative philosophy political political-satire politics postcolonialism postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice privilege protagonist protest protest-literature quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-injustice racial-oppression racial-prejudice racial-segregation racial-stereotypes racial-stereotyping racism ralph-ellison rebellion resilience resistance satire 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 social-protest societal-expectations societal-norms society southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states stereotype stereotypes struggle subjugation subversion surreal surrealism surrealism. survival symbolism symbols the-american-dream the-black-experience the-harlem-renaissance twentieth-century-literature underground unseen urban-life w.e.b.-du-bois white-supremacy writing-style