1940s african-american african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist alienation ambiguity ambition american-dream american-history american-identity american-literature anxiety army army-life aspirations assimilation autobiographical betrayal bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature blindness blues brotherhood civil-rights civil-rights-movement class classic coming-of-age comparison competition conformity consumerism corruption courage cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-critique cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture death dehumanization destiny discipline discrimination disillusionment double-consciousness drama dreams duty dystopia equality exile existentialism fame fate fear forbidden-love freedom friendship fulfillment gritty happiness hardship harlem harlem-renaissance hawaii hawaiian-islands historical-fiction honolulu honor iconic identity identity-crisis individualism individuality inequality infantry infidelity injustice insecurity invisibility invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man isolation japanese-attack jazz jazz-music life literature loss loss-of-identity love love-affair love-affairs loyalty marginalization materialism military military-life modern-life modern-society modernism morality narrator novel oppression pacific-theater passion pearl-harbor personal-development personal-freedom personal-growth philosophy philosophy-of-life political politics postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice protagonist protest psychology pulitzer-prize quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison rebellion redemption relationships resilience resistance romance sacrifice segregation self-discovery self-empowerment self-esteem self-help self-improvement self-reflection self-worth social-class social-commentary social-comparison social-criticism social-equality social-hierarchy social-inequality social-injustice social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice social-status societal-expectations societal-norms societal-pressure societal-pressures society sociology soldier soldiers southern-gothic southern-united-states status status-anxiety stereotypes struggle subversion success surrealism survival symbolism the-american-dream tragedy underground urban-life violence war war-novel wealth white-supremacy world-war-ii