Jesus-like?

I was originally going to write about something completely different, but I read Dexter's post below and it got me thinking about what characteristics Gregor possessed that were similar to Jesus and how he was different. To me, the most Jesus-like quality that Gregor has is his total acceptance of his horrible situation. Just as Jesus accepted his fate as one who was to be tortured and sacrificed, Gregor accepts his life as a bug. He wakes up worrying about work and about money and the train, but not once does he ask, "Why the hell am I a bug?" or wonder how he may become human again. Throughout the whole book, this concept kept throwing me off. I just didn't know what it meant that the author made sure never to show Gregor as being in opposition to his condition. He speaks about it objectively as if someday it will no longer exist, but if I was a bug, I would be freaking out. Just saying.

While Gregor is accepting of his fate, I'm not sure if he is accepting with the same awareness that Jesus was and consequently, I don't agree that Gregor's death was a self-sacrifice. It just seemed as if he was really hurt and knew his family didn't want him around and went into his room because it was the thing to do. He died that night because he was so hurt and had a short life-span as a bug, not because he made some sort of altruistic and self-sacrificing decision in order to benefit his family. However, I do think that a sacrifice took place. Even though "Vermin" is meaning "not to be sacrificed", it seems as if Grete makes a conscious decision to sacrifice Gregor for her own benefit and for her family's future. She was ready to put Gregor out to pasture at the time of his death and his deterioration in health was a direct result of her recent lack of care. At the end of her story, she is finally able to shine as an individual because her brother, even as an insect, overshadowed her contributions to the family.