The sentences used by Smith range from 24 to 29 words. The length of these sentences is not what makes them so effective. Smith uses these long sentences as well as the drastic changes in the speaker's point of view within these long sentences to add an additional layer of confusion for the reader. A reader must first read these long sentences and distinguish where the shift is between speakers. This detail adds an extra layer of complexity and confusion to the pommel, highlighting how easy it can be to misinterpret the distress of others. Smith presents this story to readers in a way that is anything but simple and requires careful reading and consideration to make sense of it. “Oh, no no no, it was always too cold (the dead man still lay moaning) I was too far away for life and I didn't say goodbye but I drowned” (Smith 288 lines 9-12) is a sentence constructed from 29 words and changes speaker 3 times. Line nine is told from the point of view of a friend or spectator, while line ten is told from the point of view of a narrator, and lines eleven through twelve are spoken by the dead man. This very convoluted and complex writing style is even more confusing