Blog #12: It's a Bug's Life

1. Uneasy dreams: indication of difference from normal
    "gigantic": imagery, tells us the state and absurdity of his transformation, childlike word
    Sentence as a whole states an absurd idea in a casual or flippant (tone?) way.
2. Even simpler than first sentence. "Giant" is a smaller word in itself. No commas or breaks, only sentence to begin with the name of the character
3. Starts with a hook, something happened "when gregory woke up". More artistically written than the first two, meant to draw in readers. Use of word "enormous" more dramatic. "troubled" dreams in place of "uneasy" implies more of an issue than a discomfort.
4. Far more breaks; 4 commas, waits two breaks to mention the name of the character, lots of suspense, "agitated" more casual than "troubled" or "uneasy" sounds more like a nightmare than a night terror, "monstrous vermin" implies negative connotation, far worse than other descriptions.

 The four different translations of the opening sentence of Metamorphosis provide an excellent example of the difference a translation can make. Changing syntax and replacing words can make a monumental difference in the interpretation of a sentence and the story as a whole. In these examples, the word choice and sentence order is particularly relevant in the different translations. For example, the position of the character (Gregor Samsa) is relevant to the amount of emphasis that is placed on him and the suspenseful aspect in the sentence.
Diction, or word choice, is extremely important to this sentence. For example, the adjective used to describe Samsa as a bug defines both the reader's interpretation of the transformation and his or her mental image of the bug. One sentence uses the word "giant", while the other uses "monstrous".  The first reader would probably have a mild/neutral interpretation of Samsa, while the second reader would have a negative interpretation. Furthermore, the two mental pictures would be entirely different. One would likely be a normal, perhaps cartoonish, insect, while the other would be an alien, disgusting bug. The use of certain words in the text is important to the readers interpretation of the story.
The use of sentence structure is also important to the reader's interpretation of the text. As stated above, the position of Samsa's name defines the reader's interpretation of the text. For example, the second translation, the most simple one, begins with the name. This eliminates any question of who is being spoken about. Conversely, the fourth translation mentions Samsa's name seven words and two commas into the sentence. The fourth sentence will appeal to readers who enjoy suspenseful aspects, as the lead in causes readers to wonder the subject. The second will appeal to readers who connect with logical storytelling and to-the-point writing styles.
These elements of translation can change the mood, tone, and story of a text. It's really interesting what a difference it can make. Props to you for a cool example, Mrs. G! I may read this one if I ever have free time!