Death is inevitable. It is a fairly simple concept. After birth, we live our lives until our certain death. This brings to topic a very important question, “Does death always have to be such a gruesome concept?”. In the book, “Of Mice and Men,” death is a reoccurring event and a contributor to theme development.

This novel highlights the adventures and lives of Lennie Small and George Milton. Lennie lacks intelligence due to his mental illness. He compensates for his limitations with his good work ethic. George and Lennie travel everywhere together. George keeps a close eye on Lennie and is a wonderful friend and caretaker to his friend.  Both characters work on a ranch in order to raise money so they may eventually buy their own ranch. Near the end of the story, Lennie's mental illness puts him in a horrible situation. Lennie becomes obsessed with Curley’s(his boss’s son) wife and finally has an opportunity to talk to her. All went awry when he accidentally kills her in a moment of panic. In the moment of her death, the beauty of Curley's wife as she passes helps portray the message that death is not synonymous with grim. Death can represent a release from life’s difficult struggles, which leads to a feeling of peace.

      The author demonstrates early on in the novel that death can help a desperate person escape from the stressors and challenges of everyday life.  Curley's wife was portrayed as an unfavorable woman in which no one should involve themselves with. This leaves Curley's wife feeling excluded and unhappy. The author illustrates this point in the quote, “Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality”(Steinbeck 31). In this scene, she simply wishes to speak to Lennie and George. They refuse to talk to her, which results in her dismay and the portrayal that she had, “brittle quality,” to her voice. After she passes away, the author describes her saying, “The meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face.” This supports the theory that death can be a release from the struggles of the world. Curley's wife no longer looks unfriendly. Her loneliness, anger and unhappiness slowly flushes from her lifeless body as she was finally set free from this world. This is one example of how death can be a release from the  struggles of the world.

     Near the end of Curley's wife’s life, she was talking to Lennie. As she was speaking to Lennie, she was telling him about the dreams she once had. Her aspirations and drive to reach her desired accomplishments faded, as heard in her defeated voice.  She was left with just a dark cloud surrounding her memories. The author writes ““‘I tell you I ain’t used to livin’ like this, I could’ve made somethin’ of myself’ she said darkly” (Steinbeck 88). This shows how she was miserable when she was alive, always wishing she could change her past and regretting not making more of the life she was given.  The word “darkly” helps to demonstrate Curley’s wife’s solemn tone. After she passes away, the author writes, “She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young” (Steinbeck 93). This exemplifies a message that now that she’s gone, and all the agony and pain is lifted from her corpse, she exums beauty and sweetness in her youthful appearance. She could have done amazing things with her life, but never has the chance. Now that she’s gone, she can start over and start her happiness in her afterlife.

    In Conclusion, the beauty in Curley's wife after she dies portrays the message that death is inevitable, and that it does not have to be gruesome. It can be a release from the struggles of the world. Through Curley's wife’s early development as a character who is a bad person, to the moments before she passes, she was struggling. The moment that her life ends, all of her struggles seem to disappear. Death is not always the struggle, sometimes living is the biggest challenge. As humans, we mourn death as the most tragic event in someone’s life. Instead, we should be celebrating.  When sometimes dies, so do all their struggles.