Odets' other works offer fascinating comparisons with Waiting for Lefty and showcase the breadth of his talents and concerns. Two notable plays from his tenure with the Group Theatre, Awake and Sing! (1935) and Paradise Lost (1935), both convey political messages through the narratives of American families, albeit in distinct manners. Awake and Sing! presents a realistic portrayal of a working-class Jewish family's struggles, similar to the domestic scenes in Waiting for Lefty. In contrast, Paradise Lost depicts a deteriorating middle-class family, using symbolism to assign each family member a specific middle-class value.

Odets' 1949 play, The Big Knife, explores the personal and professional turmoil of a movie actor named Charlie Castles, who ultimately takes his own life. This work can be interpreted as a reflection of the challenges Odets faced in Hollywood, and it may even foreshadow the distress he would endure during the McCarthy era.

Odets' contemporaries in Depression-era political drama also invite insightful comparisons. John Howard Lawson's Marching Song portrays the clash between a union and a group of brutal strike-breakers, while Albert Maltz's Black Pit focuses on the struggles of West Virginia coal miners. Although these plays share thematic and ideological similarities with Waiting for Lefty, each possesses its own distinctive voice, highlighting the diversity of participants and philosophies within the radical theatre movement.

Hard Times, by Studs Terkel (1970), is a compelling oral history of the Depression, compiled from hundreds of interviews with individuals from various backgrounds. These first-hand accounts collectively create a vivid depiction of the era, offering an intensity rarely achieved in conventional historical narratives.