abstract:Shadow and Act is a collection of essays by Ralph Ellison, published in 1964. The writings encompass the two decades which began with Ellison's involvement with African American political activism and print media in Harlem, Ellison's emergence as a highly acclaimed writer with the publication of Invisible Man, and culminating with his 1964 challenge of Irving Howe's characterization of African American life, "Black Boys and Native Sons," with his now famous essay, "The World and the Jug.