1.-african-american-literature 16.-oppression 20th-century academic-achievement 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 black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-lives-matter black-power blindness blues brotherhood civil-rights civil-rights-movement class-struggle college college-access college-accountability college-admissions college-affordability college-dropout college-experience college-graduation college-preparation college-rankings collegestudentorientation coming-of-age complexity conformity corruption cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture deception dehumanization discrimination disillusionment double-consciousness dreams dystopia education education-policy ellison empowerment enlightenment equality exile existentialism existentialism. exploitation freedom harlem harlem-renaissance higher-education historical-fiction history identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality injustice inner-journey 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 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 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 social-alienation social-class social-commentary social-conformity social-criticism social-disillusionment social-equality social-hierarchy social-inequality social-injustice social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice social-norms societal-expectations society southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states stereotype stereotypes struggle student-debt student-motivation student-outcomes student-success student-support subjugation subversion surrealism survival symbolism the-american-dream the-black-experience underground unseen urban-life visibility white-supremacy writing-style