Spiteful, Loud, and Quiet
124 is spiteful, loud, and quiet. The first sentence of each of Beloved 's three parts has an adjective to describe 124 Bluestone rd. It is spiteful, then loud, and then quiet. As memories are re-experienced and people from the Sethe's past appear, the situation within the house evolves. With three adjectives given at three distinct sections of the story, the house's story arc is explicitly given. Hidden and unspoken spite explodes into loud roaring clamor, and eventually calms to an overwhelming quiet. Part one's sentence---the first three words of the book---introduces the haunted, vengeful house. "Baby's venom" simmers in the air, sending chairs flying and mirrors to break. However, this baby is invisible and a ghost; whatever harm it creates is indirect to the real cause of its spite. The underground and indirect feelings stay in the background of Sethe and Denver's minds. They are not fully addressed even when Paul D tells...