Death is the destiny of all creatures. From humans to the smallest organisms, such as the amoeba, death is inevitable and cannot be escaped. Reflecting on this, one can find great despair in this truth. However, death may be premature. An early death can be seen as a death that occurs before a living being's average age of death, or in shorter words, the “expiration date.” To highlight this, premature death is seen in literary works, particularly in American narratives. In brief, the narratives that will be analyzed include: The Awakening by Kate Chopin, “The Case of Paul” by Willa Cather and Daisy Miller by Henry James. Mainly, the untimely death is seen in the novella, The Awakening of Kate Chopin. In short, this story revolves around Edna Pontellier, wife of a very rich Creole businessman, Léonce Pontellier. The novella focuses on the awakening of Edna who undergoes emotional and mental transformations that lead her to abandon her lavish lifestyle to become "free" in her art, "rediscovering" herself. Feeling trapped by her sumptuous surroundings, she places herself in a very infinitesimal abode, described as a “pigeon loft” (89), where she remains in solitude. At the end of the novel, she swims out to sea, is eventually overwhelmed by the depths and drowns. Furthermore, another example of premature death is demonstrated in the short story "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather. Ultimately, the narrative follows a high school student, Paul. Paul is suspended from school and is tired of his lackluster middle-class life. Subsequently, he steals $1000 from his current employer and flees to New York City. At this point, Paul carries out a reconnaissance of the metropolis, only to discover that his lar...... middle of paper ......ion is subjective; however, Henry James could argue that this was total negligence. James would do this because it can be inferred that when one "does not care", especially about himself, he is negligent. All in all, the untimely deaths of Edna Pontellier, Paul, and Daisy Miller reveal themes to readers of The Awakening, “Paul's Case,” and Daisy Miller, accordingly. When you associate similar situations with your own life, these themes can teach people valuable lessons that can help people live their lives. In any case, witnessing or even just reading about deaths can encourage a person to live well, in other words to live life to the fullest. Life is too short and, as demonstrated by the examples above, it can end prematurely, although you should enjoy the precious moments you have because everything can disappear in the blink of an eye.