african-american african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist alienation ambiguity american-dream american-history american-identity american-literature art assimilation atheism autobiographical betrayal beyond-good-and-evil bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature blindness blues brotherhood civil-rights civil-rights-movement coming-of-age conformity critical-theory critical-thinking critique-of-culture critique-of-religion critique-of-society cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture death death-of-god destiny discrimination disillusionment double-consciousness dreams dystopia enlightenment equality eternal-recurrence eternal-return eternal-truth ethics existential-crisis existentialism existentialist-literature free-will freedom friedrich friedrich-nietzsche german-literature god god-is-dead happiness harlem harlem-renaissance higher-man history human-condition human-nature human-potential humanism humanity identity identity-crisis individual-freedom individualism individuality inequality injustice introspection invisibility invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man isolation jazz jazz-music knowledge leadership liberation life-affirmation life-affirming literature loneliness loss-of-identity marginalization master-slave-morality meaning-of-life metaphysics modernism moral-philosophy moral-values morality narrator nature nietzsche nietzschean-philosophy nihilism oppression overcoming-oneself overcoming-suffering overman personal-freedom personal-transformation perspectivism philosophy philosophy-of-life political politics postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice protagonist protest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison redemption religion segregation self-actualization self-affirmation self-creation self-determination self-discovery self-empowerment self-expression self-improvement self-mastery self-overcoming self-realization self-reflection self-reliance self-sufficiency self-transcendence self-transformation skepticism social-class social-commentary social-criticism social-equality social-inequality social-injustice social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice societal-expectations society southern-gothic southern-united-states spiritual-awakening spiritual-transformation spirituality stereotypes struggle subversion suffering superhuman superman surrealism survival symbolism the-american-dream the-overman transcendence transcendentalism transformation transvaluation-of-values truth truthfulness ubermensch underground urban-life values white-supremacy will-to-power wisdom zarathustra übermensch