20th-century adolescence african-american african-american-author african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-history african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist aggression alienation ambiguity ambition america american-dream american-history american-identity american-literature american-society art assimilation authenticity autobiographical behavior betrayal bigotry bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-lives-matter black-power blinded-vision blindness blues boys brotherhood child-development childhood civil-rights civil-rights-movement class-struggle coming-of-age communication complexity conformity corruption cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture deception dehumanization discrimination disillusionment diversity double-consciousness dreams dystopia education ellison emotions empathy empowerment enlightenment equality exile existentialism experience exploitation family-dynamics fatherhood freedom gender harlem harlem-renaissance historical-fiction human-rights identity identity-crisis individual-vs-society individualism individuality inequality injustice intellectualism invisibility invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man invisible-man-(novel) isolation jazz jazz-age jazz-music journey leadership literary-fiction literature loss loss-of-identity marginalization marginalized marxism masculinity mental-health modern-classic modernism motif multiculturalism narration narrator national-book-award novel oppression parenting perception personal-freedom personal-narrative philosophy political political-satire politics postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice protagonist protest protest-literature psychology pursuit-of-identity quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-oppression racial-prejudice racial-segregation racial-stereotypes racial-stereotyping racism ralph-ellison rebellion relationships resistance search-for-meaning searching-for-identity segregation self-discovery self-empowerment self-esteem 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 socialization societal-expectations societal-norms society southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states stereotype 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