In contrast, Rubin sees The Miner as a turning point in Sōseki's view of the average human being — from an evil "other" to an unreliable "self" — that persisted in his later works. Shin'ichirō Nakamura viewed The Miner as an early example of stream of consciousness fiction, though Rubin considers this characterization inaccurate because of the retrospective, rather than immediate, narration. Haruki Murakami has two characters discuss the book in his novel Kafka on the Shore.
Rubin sees "The Miner" as a pivotal work for Sōseki's evolving perspective on humanity, shifting from viewing ordinary people as evil outsiders to unreliable selves that he continued to explore in later works. Shin'ichirō Nakamura saw it as an early example of stream-of-consciousness writing, but Rubin disagrees, arguing that the narrative is retrospective rather than immediate. Haruki Murakami has two characters discussing "The Miner" in his novel "Kafka on the Shore."