This Post Really Bugs Me...

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In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa faces the interesting predicament of waking up one day to find himself transformed into a giant bug. The novel explores the absurdity of existence and is a staple of the 20th century. When this novel was translated from the original German it was written in, there were several different translations done by various people. In each translation there exists different word choice, syntax, imagery, structure, and use of punctuation. Each gives their own tone to the text and creates a different feeling for the reader who reads this book. Four of these translations will be analyzed and then their effectiveness will be compared alongside a discussion of the impact of translations on texts.

#1: Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.

• Diction
• Words with moderate impact: uneasy, giant. These are not intense words, they do not carry much emotional weight. Changed also is not very impactful, no emotional connection.
• Syntax
• No breaks in the sentence, no commas or semicolons. The sentence flows from beginning to end without any hard stops in dictation. The time comes after the action, places waking up from uneasy dreams before the time in importance, then saves the shocking aspect for the end of the sentence.
• Imagery
• Imagery is not very impactful, the reader may still image a giant bug, but there is no emotional connection due to word choice. It is a very odd but almost apathetic scene.
• Structure
• Again, there is no use of commas or semicolons, the sentence is structured as action, description of the setting, and the action again. (woke, then one morning, then find himself).
• Other stylistic elements
• Rather than keep his name as Gregor Samsa, his name has been changed to Gregory Samsa, appears to be more of an English name.

#2: When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

• Diction
• Using the word "troubled" to describe his dreams has more of an impact than using "uneasy." The word troubled paints a better image of a nightmare scenario, which may spill over into the rest of the sentence. This also implies difficulty sleeping and explains his waking. "Transformed" gives a sort of magical or metamorphic description of the change, as one says a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. "Enormous" gives the impression of being extremely large, with more weight than "giant."
• Syntax
• Use of possessive pronouns ("his bed"). This is set up similarly to the first quote, first he awakes, then follows the description of his dreams. the time, and then the action of finding himself as a bug.
• Imagery
• The use of the word "enormous" draws an almost grotesquely large image of a bug, and describing the dreams as "troubled" pictures Gregor waking up in a manner as one would when they wake up with a cold sweat.
• Structure
• This is a compound sentence structure with two independent clauses.
• Other stylistic elements
• Maintains the German version of his name (Gregor)

#3: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

• Diction
• Like #1, the use of "uneasy" carries little emotional impact, and does not but severity on the dream. Suggests discomfort but not fear. Like #2, the use of "transformed" carried more imagery, such as metamorphosis. "Gigantic" is on the same level as "enormous." It carried more imagery than "giant" and gives an impactful description of size. The difference between "gigantic" and "enormous" is that gigantic merely gives a description of size while "enormous" seems to suggest an unnatural size.
• Syntax
• Using the word "As" first in the sentence suggests that all of these actions occur at the same time, Gregor wakes up and at the same time find himself transformed into a bug. In this sentence, the description of setting comes before the description of his dreams, building the sentence from least impactful to most impactful, ending with the transformation.
• Imagery
• The reader pictures Gregor waking up from his dreams and at the same time realizing that he is an oversized insect in his own bed. In this sentence, the word "transformed" seems to carry the most imagery, as if his body has morphed into that of an insect.
• Structure
• This is also a compound sentence, composed of the independent clause of Gregor waking, and the independent clause of him finding himself transformed.
• Other stylistic elements
• The German name of Gregor is maintained.

#4: One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.

• Diction
• The use of the word "agitated" suggests discomfort and possibly even slight frustration. "Monstrous" carries a more negative connotation as if the size is a mistake of nature. Use of the word "vermin" leaves the interpretation more open, as vermin can also apply to rodents such as rats or mice.
• Syntax
• The structure of this sentence is drastically different compared to the other three. There are many commas in this sentence, and the order goes setting first, followed by the independent clause of waking up, the description of the dreams, then finally Gregor's name, finding himself, and lastly the description of the insect. 
• Imagery
• First, the reader pictures the time of day, then the description of the dreams gives the reader the image of waking up in an uncomfortable and frustrated state, creating a sense of anxiety. Then, the reader creates an image of the character himself based on the given name. Next, the reader can picture the physical setting of the scene in the bed and is given an impression of a creepily large insect in the bed.
• Structure
• This sentence structure is more complex than the other examples and is slightly more confusing with its use of commas.
• Other stylistic elements
• As with the other two examples, the German name of Gregor is maintained.

After analyzing word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery, these elements can be used to draw conclusions about how each example has a different meaning. In example one, the use of these elements creates an almost passive tone, with little emotional impact. The meaning of this example does not set a very shocked tone, but rather a calm and apathetic tone for the novel. In example two, a slightly more emotional tone is created with the use of more impactful words such as "troubled" and "enormous," yet still states the events in a matter-of-fact sort of manner. This creates a slightly concerned tone for the novel but is not very emotional otherwise. Example three seems to carry the most emotional impact because the use of "As" at the beginning of the sentence creates an accelerated pace as if all the events in the sentence are happening at the same time. This creates a slightly more distressed tone for the novel. The final example comes off as the most disorganized. The almost excessive use of commas creates multiple breaks for the reader and seems to drag the sentence along. This creates a more confused and uncertain tone for the novel. 

In my opinion, the most effective example of the four provided is example three. It is easy to understand, unlike example four with its use of commas, and flows smoothly from the start to the end of the sentence. The syntax of this example places the details in order from least to most important. First is the description of the time, then Gregor's dreams, and lastly the description of him being transformed into an insect. This allows the impact of the sentence to build gradually from the beginning to the end. Additionally, the use of "As" at the beginning creates a rushed tone and pictures all of the events happening at the same time, creating a good tone for the text.

This exercise shows how just four different interpretations of a language can change the author's intended tone for a piece of literature. When reading a translated text, it is important to know about the author and the time period this piece was written in, in order to get the best understanding of the message the author was trying to portray. If proper research is not done, the reader may interpret the text completely differently than was intended and draw unintentionally messages from the text. Different translations consist of different synonyms for a word depending on the preference of the translator. These different synonyms, in the English language, can carry different emotional weight depending on their context and the other words surrounding them, so it is important to choose the words that maintain the intended tone of the novel.