On Beginnings
Written as an exercise several years ago, lightly revised:

This beginning establishes the protagonist:

John wakes up, makes himself breakfast, drives to work. His workday is described in full, insomnia-curing detail.

Toward the end of the workday, he gets news which starts him on the road to realizing his society isn't utopian.

This beginning establishes the protagonist AND promises readers that a story is coming:

Yesterday's wife snored. John hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep before the alarm bit him in the leg. He thought briefly of filing a complaint; decided it wasn't quite worth the risk of spending two or three days in jail for libeling the Department of Marriage.

He went to make breakfast, and found there were no eggs. Instead, there was sardine-flavored tofu. The breakfast newsletter explained that the egg shortage was due to lesbianism and sedition among the chickens.

Driving to work was harder than it should have been; there were more bodies than usual in the street.