How does Ralph Ellison use imagery in Shadow and Act?

Ellis examines the concept of "black and white", and the ways American culture expresses these stereotypes through literature and film. In his own fiction, Ellison challenges this type of imagery by depicting a whole, self-contradictory individual. In his commitment to representing himself as a mix of the chaotic influences found in American culture, Ellison draws upon the most obvious metaphors of color to resist simplistic categorization.