Translation

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

• diction (connotation/denotation): kept original German "Gregor"; "transformed": more extreme than "changed"; "gigantic": powerful, emphasis on large size; "insect": more extreme than "bug"; "uneasy": not very extreme; "awoke": more passive than "woke"
• syntax: lack of commas (need one after "dreams")
• imagery/details: "gigantic insect": we are able to create our own interpretations of what this looks like
• structure: lack of commas, cause and effect, happening in the past
• other stylistic/figurative elements: 3rd person p.o.v., tone: story-telling

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

• diction: change from "Gregor" to "Gregory"; "uneasy": not very extreme; "changed": not as powerful or extreme as "transformed"; "giant": powerful, emphasis on large size; "bug": not as extreme or detailed as "insect"; "woke" vs. "awoke": "woke" is more active
• syntax: active voice, casual-sounding 
• imagery/details: not as much imagery as the first translation because of less extreme diction of "changed" and "bug"
• structure: brief, to the point, could be happening in past 
• other stylistic/figurative elements: 3rd person p.o.v., tone: whimsical

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

• diction: kept German "Gregor"; "troubled": more extreme than "uneasy", thus more effective; "awoke": more passive than "woke"; "transformed" more powerful than "changed"; "enormous": most powerful of size word choices so far; "bug" not as detailed as "insect"
• syntax: lack of commas (should be one after "morning"), placement of "in his bed" makes sentence sound a bit strange
• imagery/details: more than previous translation, but not as much as #1 because of generalized "bug"
• structure: seems a bit wordy, lacks correct punctuation, cause and effect, happening in past 
• other stylistic/figurative elements: 3rd person p.o.v., tone: matter-of-fact

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

• diction: kept German "Gregor"; "agitated": most specific and powerful adjective describing "dreams" so far; "monstrous vermin": very extreme, detailed, and imaginative
• syntax: has an introductory clause, many commas
• imagery/details: "monstrous vermin": allows us to visualize something terrible and extreme
• structure: a lot of punctuation, all proper, happening in past
• other stylistic/figurative elements: 3rd person p.o.v., "monstrous vermin" could be hyperbole, tone: starts out dreamy and hopeful, then transitions upon "monstrous vermin" to disgusted

The combination of diction, syntax, punctuation, and imagery affects the tone and interpretation of each translation. The first and second translations seem like they could be the first sentence of an American children's book, as they have more positive and lighthearted tones, and the second one takes on the American version of the name. Thus they both minimize the absurdity of the situation. The latter two, though, place more emphasis on absurdity, especially the last one, which I will discuss more in the next paragraph. The third translation, while maintaining a matter-of-fact tone, shows the absurdity of the transformation through diction and cause/effect. "When" automatically makes the rest of the sentence casual; we use this word to describe and give order to the events of our daily lives. Thus the reader finds a disconnect in transforming into an "enormous bug" and the previous sense of normality of the sentence.     

I find it interesting that all the translations lack punctuation besides the final one. This lack of commas has the effect of making the sentence seem more casual and normal; the fourth one is the only one that provides enough pauses to allow the reader to absorb the weirdness (and absurdity!) of the situation. This is part of the reason why I think the final one is the most effective. I also think this because of the syntax; the order of the words and pauses make it sound like Gregor truly "found himself," which is the phrase we use when we find who we really are as a person. Thus this creates the effect that he identifies himself as a "monstrous vermin," which effectively portrays Kafka's emphasis on the absurdity of human existence. 

This exercise reveals the difficulty involved in reading translated texts because there are numerous ways to translate a sentence, all having different meanings and effects. Without reading an author's original work, we receive the the translator's personal bias, which ultimately affects our perception of the text as well.

http://memegenerator.net/instance/54495957