Naming your main character Tom means something in American literature. The Ghosts' of Sawyer and Joad haunt that character from page one. But in The Letter, instead of hiding behind the memorable characterizations of past ‘literary Toms,' Joseph Devon attacks this notion of the proud, stoic, and resourceful hero in modern times. After an unspeakable accident leaves Tom Quint without a shred of hope, he must reluctantly explore not only the world he passes in his ragtop, but the life that has passed him by. And like his literary predecessors, Quint's reluctance to adapt is what makes his struggle to survive so compelling.