A Nation of Translations

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 

The novel, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, was published originally in 1915. The plot of this novel is about Gregor Samsa, the main character, transforming into an insect and his struggle with this identity. He is author who has highlighted the genre of absurdity through the reaction of the public after World War I. However, Camus argues that Kafka rather failed at this genre because his works establish hope. 

This blog post will compare the aspects of diction, syntax, imagery, structure, etc through four different translations to establish the importance and affect of each. 

Original: Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt.

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

• diction (connotation/denotation): 
• Uneasy: negative connotation due it being uncomfortable for one to feel "unsure" and not good. The word implies something about the dreams were disturbing in nature and not typical. 
• Giant: The word means he was huge which could translate to the struggle as well being giant. It is of medium of intensity in scale descriptors. 
• Changed: That something had to have caused the change and it was just a difference in appearance. 
• Bug: It has a slight negative connotation becomes it begins to border on the pest side rather than the proper terminology side. It also is how like a kid or someone talking quickly would probably describe the insect-- especially someone with little knowledge of the bug. 
• syntax: 
• Woke vs. Awoke 
• The sentence is direct in nature by giving out a lot of facts in a medium-short sentence.
• The process of the sentence follows the process Samsa would have gone through to find out he was a bug: woken up, noted the dreams, discovered the new truth. 
• imagery/details:
• Giant: The bug he has turned into is not just a tiny insect, but one of a large quality. This could either mean as far as insect measurements go, he is giant or that he is a man-sized insect. 
• Set the setting: his bedroom and the time: One morning
• Keeps it elusive enough that time is listed by not necessarily specified in memory-- it was just "one morning." 
• structure: 
• The sentence length is medium to short and it is concise.
• There is not much imagery or narrative just basics. 
• This overall summarizes the events which almost minimizes them and makes them seem natural. 
• No punctuation pauses

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

• diction (connotation/denotation): 
• Troubled: This word has a very negative connotation because it implies that they presented an issue to Samsa and caused a true disturbance. 
• The addition of "in his bed" concludes that he realized quickly as well as in a place of comfort. 
• Transformed: The word implies a dramatic change and one that could alter more than just appearance. 
• Enormous: This word would be bigger than "giant" and is more expressive in nature. 
• Bug: Same observations as translation one. 
• syntax:
• Woke vs. Awoke
• When being first in the sentence gives the sentence a sense of time and order.
• The most important details start and conclude the sentence. 
• imagery/details:
• Sets the scene: setting of his bed and time: one morning 
• Present sense of time flow
• Enormous: Makes him as a bug seem larger than life and a normal sized insect.
• Note the lack of specificity when it comes to bug type and general lack of extreme detail. 
• structure:
• Again, the sentence length is shorter and to the point. This sentence stretches on the longer side because it mentions the bed in it. 
• Not any punctuation pauses 

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

• diction (connotation/denotation) 
• Uneasy: Same as translation one.
• Dreams: This word usually has a positive connotation and one would typically use the word "nightmare" if wanting completely negative. This could imply some hope in the sentence and overall story. 
• Transformed: Same as translation two. 
• Gigantic: This term would be between giant and enormous on a scale. It provides a medium ground between the two. 
• As: Immediately upon waking up is when this occurred-- gives a "live action" play-by-play of the event almost. 
• Insect: It is a more accurate terminology of the bug which presents that there could be more knowledge on it but also creates distance. 
• syntax:
• Woke vs. awoke
• Setting of time is presented first
• Sentence ends with the mention of the insect and begins with his name: contrast?
• imagery/details
• Setting: in bed, time: "as" and one morning 
• Gives an idea to the size of bug he has changed into 
• Little imagery 
• structure:
• A longer sentence about the same length as translation 2 
• No punctuation or pauses 
• Summation of events: direct, factual, etc  

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

• diction (connotation/denotation:
• Agitated: It introduces how Samsa felt about the dreams and how they were negative because they annoyed/bothered him greatly.
• Transformed: Same as above translations.
• Monstrous: Instead of a size, this description shows how Samsa and the author felt about his transformation. They both see it as negative and there is a sense of "ugly" or evil with that term.
• Vermin: This term is extremely negative and could be applied to more than just bugs. It shows their feelings again and shows that they are disgusted by it. It also shows ignorance almost from lack of understanding, knowledge, or appreciation. 
• syntax:
• Begins the sentence with introducing the time and event that awoke him, then introduces who he is, where he is, and the conflict. 
• Awakening vs. woke/awoke
• Puts him closer together with the direct conflict 
• imagery/details:
• The use of monstrous and vermin introduces the thought that he is ugly and may be deformed. While it gives detail on those ends, it lacks specificity when it comes to the vermin type, size, etc. 
• structure:
• Continuous use of commas and punctuation 
• Pauses created by those 
• Chucks up the setting vs. the more important details/narrative

Concluding Questions: How does the word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery shift in each affect meaning? Is one more effective than another? Why? What does this exercise bring up about the difficulty of reading translated texts? How do different translations effect the tone of the sentence?

All four of those-- word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery-- are key concepts manipulated by the author to convey their message/their purpose. When looking at word choice, the word changes the way the readers feel about what they are reading through varying tones, moods, and meaning. The author uses different words and uses their connotations and denotations to implicate how the characters feel and reflect that to readers. In turn, word choice will also vary all of the other elements of text and can easily change the meaning of just one sentence-- as seen above. Which is why, as a result, translation accuracy and the bias of the translator must be kept in mind by any critical readers. Syntax utilizes the words chosen to create a "image" with the way they are presented in the sentence sequence. This small detail in itself can help compare/contrast ideas and emphasize points the author wants to make. Punctuation aligns with syntax to create the structure of a sentence. It affects length and pacing which can alter the tone and mood of the text. Also, the use of commas and pauses can highlight key events or break up the sentence. Imagery, lastly, gives the audience the majority of the information about the text. This can include setting, time, feelings, descriptions, thoughts, etc. Imagery helps the audience visualize the characters and scenes more effectively which in turn can help the texts' messages be greater understood. On the other hand, the lack of imagery is also a style used by some authors to present a whole knew message or comment. Personally, to me, all four elements rely on each other and change when they change individually. If one had to be chosen as the most effective, I would pinpoint it to be the diction or word choice of the piece. It seems any true author knows the importance how the words they chose to convey their messages and how each word can pack a powerful punch. Word choice is what most directly can alter meaning, audience reception, message, and all three other elements the most effectively. 

Through the exercise, it is apparent that all elements such as the four listed are incredibly important to take into account by readers. The translation of a piece of literature can unintentionally alter any element and therefore change the original intention of the novel. It shows why context and background knowledge about the novel/author as well as the translations are key to know as a critical reader. If those are noted and researched properly, the reader will likely be able to understand the text as closely to the original intention of the author as possible. While in these four sentences, the main ideas are still present, the tone shifts from each. This shift in tone shows the affect of these elements and how as a reader, we might evaluate them differently because of it. 

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