jesus comparisons in "great" american literature- WTF

[Green Kool Aid]

this summer, im reading books that my high school didn't bother to cover. i read great gatsby a couple weeks ago and just remembered this.

**GATSBY SPOILER**



At the end when Gatsby is walking to the pool with the float over his shoulder and he stumbles before his death, this was that same sort of Jesus comparison that I remember reading about in "The Old Man and the Sea" when the main character had the mast over his shoulders after returning from sea.

What was the first book to use the Jesus comparison? Why do authors insist on doing this?

It ruins the integrity of a story for me. The thing I enjoy most about books is completely human, sympathetic, characters, but this antic removes me from the character so much. Does anyone else feel this way?