Noun modified by Comma

[sushant.bhola]

I saw a sentence similar to below one as a correct answer choice in OG.

The adventures of Thomas, a pioneer journalist, included swimming a river faster than a fish.

My question is what does 'a pioneer journalist' refer to: 'The adventures of Thomas' or 'Thomas'. My limited knowledge suggests that 'a pioneer journalist' should modify the noun just preceding it and in below sentence both 'Thomas' and 'The adventures of Thomas' are nouns. How to decide in such cases?


On similar lines, how do we decide if below construct is correct or incorrect. (It is considered as correct in one of OG's problem)

Rohan's letters to Gary, which were written xxxxx, outnumber his letters to any of his girlfriends.

which may refer to either 'Gary' or 'Rohan's letters', whats the best way to go about it.

Any help to clear this doubt/concept is much appreciated.

[RonPurewal]

In both cases, you can resolve the issue with common sense. So there's really no issue at all.