2. What emotion does it inspire in the unnamed narrator when he realizes that Gospodar feels "no concern at all" (27) for the unnamed narrator's response to him?

3. What term does the unnamed narrator use to describe the element that "always claims" him when he "loses track" (22) of where he is?

4. What action does Gospodar take that leads the unnamed narrator to feel the action "like a spark along the track" (30) of the narrator's spine?

5. What part of the unnamed narrator's body does Gospodar bite when the unnamed narrator tells him to stop?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the unnamed narrator's reason for participating in the protests depicted in the section entitled "Decent People"?

2. What information about the unnamed narrator's father has been revealed by the time "Decent People" comes to a close?

3. In what way is D.'s experience different than many Bulgarians and why does it lend a degree of heroism to his reputation in Sofia?

4. In what ways does the unnamed narrator's sexual partner in "Gospodar" differ from his photographs online and how does the unnamed narrator feel about these discrepancies?

5. What is the source of G.'s heartbreak, as depicted in the section called "Mentor"?

6. In what way does the unnamed narrator draw a connection between the role of a teacher and the mysterious nature of a teacher's impact?

7. In what way does Greenwell go about depicting a vivid portrait of the city of Sofia?

8. How does the unnamed narrator describe the feeling he always gets when he "loses track" (22) of his place in the world?

9. What emotion does the unnamed narrator feel most strongly when he thinks about having lost R. in the section called "Gospodar"?

10. Who is M.?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Greenwell's choice to tell the story of Cleanness using the first person point-of-view wielded by an unnamed narrator. What elements of the book's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Greenwell’s intended effects on the reader?