The Sot-Weed Factor continues the existential themes of Barth's first two novels. In its concern with value and action, it recalls the dilemma of Todd Andrews in The Floating Opera. In its preoccupation with the construction of individual identity and spiritual paralysis, however, The Sot-Weed Factor is a sequel to The End of the Road (1958).

Since, in fact, Barth has described these three novels as a "nihilistic trilogy," they might well be read as complementary texts. In its treatment of the quest of an innocent figure, The Sot-Weed Factor also looks forward to the adventures of George in Giles Goat-Boy (1966) and ultimately to Barth's preoccupation with myth, found in much of his later writing. Descendants of the Burlingame-Cooke connection also return in LETTERS (1979) to continue their shady and equally inconclusive intrigues.