The Road to Wellville does not depend as heavily upon literary allusions as do other novels by Boyle. Like Boyle's other novels, however, The Road to Wellville is loosely based upon historical characters and incidents. Boyle takes liberty with history in order to dramatize the chaotic nature of history, which he considers a destructive force rather than a civilized progression. As he does in his other novels, Boyle adds a touch of music to The Road to Wellville by introducing the Battle Creek Sanitarium String Quartet.