Like Tom Wolfe’s other novels, A Man in Full showcases a literary style influenced by both Wolfe’s New Journalism techniques and social realism. Wolfe is considered one of the most important voices of the New Journalism movement, which gained prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. New Journalism called for a long-form journalistic style that told facts with the narrative techniques of fiction, including literary devices, suspense, and drama. New Journalists like Wolfe immersed themselves in their reportage to observe the minutest details of a milieu and convey these details in a unique, subjective voice. Proponents of the school believed that this style of journalism could capture the complex truth in a way traditional journalism left out. Though New Journalism has been criticized for promoting subjectivity in journalism, it has had a lasting influence on reportage. New Journalism has given rise to the lauded contemporary writing style of creative nonfiction.

Wolfe uses many of the techniques of New Journalism in A Man in Full, including the meticulous observation of people’s attire, mannerisms, possessions, and surroundings. Though the novel is a work of fiction, it draws from real life, such as the world of Atlanta society in the 1990s.