20th-century african-american african-american-author 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-history american-identity american-literature american-society art assimilation authenticity autobiographical betrayal bigotry bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-lives-matter black-power blinded-vision blindness blues brotherhood censorship civil-rights civil-rights-movement class-struggle coming-of-age communist-regime complexity conformity consciousness corruption cultural-alienation cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-heritage cultural-identity culture deception dehumanization dictatorship discrimination disillusionment diversity double-consciousness dreams dystopia ellison empowerment enlightenment equality escape everyday-life exile existentialism experience exploitation freedom government-control harlem harlem-renaissance historical-fiction history 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 korean-history leadership literary-fiction literature loss loss-of-identity manipulation marginalization marginalized marxism modern-classic modernism motif multiculturalism narration narrator national-book-award nonfiction north-korea north-korean-defectors novel opportunity oppression perception personal-freedom personal-narrative philosophy political political-refugees political-satire politics postmodernism power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice propaganda protagonist protest protest-literature 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 resilience resistance search-for-meaning searching-for-identity segregation self-discovery self-empowerment social-activism 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 societal-expectations societal-norms society southern-gothic southern-literature southern-united-states stereotype stereotypes struggle subversion surreal surrealism surrealism. surveillance survival symbolism symbols the-american-dream the-black-experience the-harlem-renaissance totalitarianism true-stories twentieth-century-literature underground unseen urban-life w.e.b.-du-bois white-supremacy