Beloved Opening Paragraph

After reading the opening paragraph to Toni Morrison’s Beloved, many readers may feel the need to immediately turn the page, in hopes of taking the first steps to answering all of the unresolved questions bestowed upon them. Overall, the opening paragraph of Beloved leaves readers on the edge of their seats, being detailed enough to immediately grab a reader’s attention but also being vague enough to leave readers wanting more. Specifically, readers may feel curious and intrigued, itching to know what it meant by the statement, “124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom” (Morrison 3) and interested to know more about the house and its human (and ghost) inhabitants. By invoking these feelings of curiosity and intrigue, the opening paragraph effectively does its job of “hooking” readers on and ensuring that the

However, the hinting of paranormal occurrences doesn’t stop there, as also seen in the statement, “Neither boy wanted to see more; another kettleful of chickpeas smoking in a heap on the floor; soda crackers crumbled and strewn in a line next to the door still” (Morrison 3). These three statements, coupled with the opening confession that 124 was “Full of a baby’s venom” (Morrison 3), strongly imply that 124 is haunted by a ghost, thus providing readers with the expectations of paranormal themes to go along with the novel’s fantasy/supernatural elements. Furthermore, the opening paragraph also raises some questions that can allude to the story’s overall conflicts. For example, how did the baby that haunts 124 die, and what made it spiteful? Was there something specifically tying Sethe and her daughter to the house that did not allow them to leave? Additionally, would anything ever change and end 124’s