The story presents a keen interest in the surreal, the subconscious, and the bureaucratic class. Other works by Kafka that also share these interests include "The Metamorphosis," "Description of a Struggle," The Trial, and Amerika.
Other authors interested in the surreal and the subconscious include Jorge Louis Borges, Haruki Murakami, and Gabriel García Márquez. Other authors interested in existentialism and post-industrial bureaucracy include Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, George Orwell, Vladimir Nabokov, and Soren Kirkegaard.