A Man In Full

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1998

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 6

Chapters 7-13

Chapters 14-19

Chapters 20-26

Chapter 27-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Themes

The American Obsession with Wealth and Status

Content Warning: The source material contains references to sexual assault, racism, and torture. Additionally, the source material uses outdated, offensive terms for LGBTQIA people, Jewish people, and other groups of people; these terms are replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.

In his final speech, before he exits the novel’s stage for good, Charlie unpacks the nature of the American Dream for his audience. He defines the desire for wealth and status as an “endless quest.” The true goal of the American Dream is not simply being wealthy but appearing wealthier than others. Thus, the desire for wealth, status, and power is never-ending. Because the desire for status is insatiable and the definition of status is ever-evolving, the American Dream does not bring tranquility. All it brings is what Charlie calls “perturbation.” Charlie’s speech encapsulates the novel’s theme of the societal obsession with wealth, status, power, and appearance, suggesting that chasing these values does not necessarily bring happiness.

Illustrating Charlie’s comment on perturbation, characters are often shown to be rattled by social anxieties and the fear of losing wealth and social relevance. Charlie himself turns into a sweaty mess at the PlannersBanc office when loan officers demand he sell Turpmtine. When Peepgass and Harry Zale arrive to seize his G-5 jet, Charlie is again beset by intense fear. The fear of losing his possessions and symbols of wealth gives Charlie chronic insomnia and triggers his knee pain. Meanwhile, Peepgass’s arc shows how the lack of wealth and status can be a recurrent source of unhappiness. While Peepgass is middle class, he wants much more. He is shown to detest his rental unit, his shabby clothes, and his status at work. Peepgass feels empty, noting that he is “only forty-six years old, and already he’d reached a dead end in the banking maze” (238). As Charlie’s and Peepgass’s respective arcs reveal, both achieving and maintaining wealth can result in anxiety and unhappiness.

The quest for wealth and status is also shown to be a morally compromising one. Charlie would rather lay off his employees than sell his ostentatious quail plantation. He also ignited racial tensions just to lower land prices in a coveted neighborhood, and he escapes down the stairs rather than face a caterer to whom he owes $17,000. Peepgass deliberately enters a loveless marriage and abdicates ethics in the pursuit of wealth. Martha too feels perturbation at her social irrelevance. She knows that being seen without a man makes her appear invisible. Thus, she too enters a marriage of convenience. Thus, characters in the novel are shown to heed their desire for status and health above all else, leading to decisions that harm others and even themselves.

The only way out of this morass is offered via Stoic philosophy. Conrad tells Charlie that it is not the actual loss of wealth one fears but that of losing face. However, if a person stops being affected by how others perceive them, they can overcome both the desire for wealth as well as panic at the prospect of losing it. In the end, Charlie terms the very assets for which he has compromised his morals as “trifles” and gives away everything he owns to his creditors. His embrace of Conrad’s Stoic ideals suggests that an ethical, principled life is incompatible with an unthinking obsession with wealth.

The True Meaning of Masculinity

A Man in Full explores who constitutes the full man of its title by testing its male main characters’ definitions of masculinity. In a world obsessed with appearances and status, characters like Charlie, Conrad, and Peepgass must perform masculinity to be acknowledged as men, even as they are beset by temptations such as lust, power, and wealth. Toxic definitions of masculinity abound, from Charlie’s vulgar display of wealth and veneration of physical strength to Kenny’s love for offensive, misogynistic lyrics. Faced with these ineffectual displays of manhood, the novel suggests that true definitions of masculinity lie beyond the material.

Conrad, who is presented as the moral center of the novel, distances himself from toxic masculinity from the beginning. Conrad might seem prudish to Kenny, but he dislikes the violent, nihilistic side of his friend. Kenny, though good-hearted, is seduced by the culture of thrill-seeking and anarchy that many young men equate with manhood. This thrill-seeking may be a way for Kenny to feel a sense of control in a hostile world. However, Conrad makes it clear to Kenny that listening to misogynistic music is akin to putting “all this stupid poison in [his] brain” (116). Later, Charlie admonishes Kenny for viewing jail as cool. Conrad has experienced prison, and he knows it is painful and humiliating. Thus, Conrad hints that a man in full is a man who considers the implicit meaning of his words and the consequences of his actions.

For Charlie, an ex-athlete who revels in his physical power, being a man is as much about owning land and wealth as it is about letting one’s inner animal lose. Charlie divorces his first wife for no other reason but her advancing age, and he heavily objectifies young women. Not only does he sexualize 28-year-old Serena, but 60-year-old Charlie also leers at Elizabeth, who is only 18. Charlie’s excuse for the objectification is a riff on the cliché: Boys will be boys. He often excuses his lust as the natural male behavior. Further, he thinks his vanity before other men is natural, reflecting that “the egotism of the male of the species is such that he is embarrassed to let another male get an eyeful of his infirmities” (371). Thus, Charlie wants to flaunt his masculinity, embodied in his wealth, sexuality, and back like a “Jersey bull,” to both men and women.

It is only when Charlie’s path converges with Conrad that the novel’s ultimate definition of masculinity is made clear. The deeper meaning of the Jersey bull metaphor is revealed when Conrad explains Epictetus’s metaphor of the bull to Charlie. The noble bull is the symbol of true masculinity, which has little to do with money, power, or desire. The bull goes ahead with the right choices in accordance with his character, irrespective of the creatures that hunt him. Thus, the text presents a new model of masculinity, separate from conventional pursuits. While Charlie and Conrad adopt this new model, Peepgass remains stuck in the old ways. Even though he plans to marry Martha, he knows he will commit infidelity to chase carnal desires. Roger and Wes emerge as men of the world, deriving their masculinity from power and politics. However, Roger makes it clear to Wes that though he enjoys politics, he is not sure whether he likes exerting power over others. Instead, he likes politics because it has shown him the way to own his Black identity, noting, “I was with my people at last” (740). Thus, Roger offers the hope that he can be both a man of the world and a man in full.

The Ripple Effect of Race and Class Inequalities

To portray the breadth and complexity of modern America, novelist Tom Wolfe fills his novel with characters from different race and class backgrounds, from the Southern white tycoon Charlie Croker to Vietnamese immigrants like Lum Loc trying to build a life in suburbia. However, Wolfe’s aim is not only to portray the diversity of American life but also to explore how racial tensions and class differences play out in this life, affecting the lives of people. Thus, A Man in Full highlights how the actions of white, wealthy people may have adverse ripple effects on Black and economically disadvantaged Americans.

The novel’s setting is central to the narrative’s exploration of the complex interplay of racial tension and class differences. As Wes and Roger discuss, Atlanta’s population is 70% Black, yet the most expensive areas of the city, such as Buckhead, are occupied by wealthy white people. Black people are wooed by politicians only for their votes. Further, Black art forms, slang, and attire are coded as dangerous for white people and genteel Black people. Roger, a wealthy Black man, dislikes Fareek’s gold chain and diamond earrings and is quick to believe Fareek could be a rapist. He initially thinks of Fareek as a terrible role model for Black youth, someone who thinks he can “rape, pillage and loot! With no one to answer to!” (33). Further, Roger also considers predominantly Black neighborhoods unsafe, fearing parking his Lexus there. Despite the growing economic boom of the 1980s and 1990s, society in Atlanta remains torn between a glitzy future and the racist ways of the antebellum South. The text stresses that most of Charlie’s workers are either Black Americans or Asian immigrants, suggesting Charlie’s wealth is built on the labor of minorities. Further, wealthy white people like Charlie seldom intermingle with Black people; even the Jewish Richmans are considered a novelty at Charlie’s weekend in Turpmtine. When Fareek Fanon asks Charlie if he can visit Turpmtine, Charlie cringes, trying to imagine how he would introduce “the big Black oaf […] as his guest of honor” (588). The novel depicts a highly racialized society, where economic progress is lopsided, and social progress is still slow.

The corrective the novel offers against racial and class inequalities is simply to help each other, irrespective of such differences. Though Conrad’s experiences while incarcerated at Santa Rita are dehumanizing, his escape emphasizes the value of collaborating across race and class divides: Conrad escapes California with the help of not just the white Kenny but also Mai’s Army, a network of immigrants from Asia. When Charlie hears Conrad’s perspective toward the end of the novel, his worldview broadens, and he begins to understand how the chase for materialism has made him stray from the path of ethics. Though Wes and Roger think Charlie betrays them with his speech at the press conference, in truth, Charlie does not say anything disparaging about Fareek. In fact, Charlie makes a case for not assuming Fareek is capable of rape just because he is young and Black. Charlie knows Fareek is “obnoxious […] impertinent […] but you can’t necessarily jump from that to say he’d do whatever he wants” (720). Thus, the novel suggests looking beyond race and class differences is the way forward. The novel’s depiction of racism and classism is limited by its focalization through the perspective of its many white or wealthy characters, resulting in a more individualistic solution to broader systemic issues. However, for Charlie, the lesson learned is central to his character arc, allowing him to progress beyond his biased perspective to a more inclusive understanding of the world around him.