20th-century achievement african-american african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-history african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist alain-de-botton alienation ambiguity ambition american-dream american-history american-identity american-literature anxiety aspirations assimilation autobiographical betrayal bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-power blindness blues brotherhood career civil-rights civil-rights-movement class class-struggle college coming-of-age comparative-literature comparison competition complexity conformity consumerism contentment corruption critique cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-critique cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture deception dehumanization discrimination disillusionment double-consciousness dreams dystopia eastern-philosophy education elite ellison emotional-well-being empowerment enlightenment equality exile existential-angst existentialism fame fear freedom fulfillment happiness harlem harlem-renaissance higher-education human-nature identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality injustice insecurity invisibility invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man invisible-man-(novel) isolation ivy-league jazz jazz-age jazz-music literature loss loss-of-identity marginalization marginalized materialism modern-life modern-society modernism narration narrator novel oppression personal-development personal-freedom personal-growth personal-narrative philosophy philosophy-of-life political politics postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice pressure protagonist protest protest-literature psychology purpose purpose-of-life quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-prejudice racial-segregation racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison rebellion resistance search-for-meaning searching-for-identity segregation self-discovery self-empowerment self-esteem self-help self-improvement self-reflection self-worth social-class social-commentary social-comparison social-conformity social-criticism social-equality social-hierarchy social-inequality social-injustice social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice social-mobility social-norms social-status societal-norms societal-pressure societal-pressures society sociology southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states status status-anxiety stereotype stereotypes struggle student student-life subjugation subversion success surrealism survival symbolism the-american-dream the-black-experience underground university urban-life wealth western-society white-supremacy