Nothing Really Mattress(?): Kafka, Camus, and the Importance of Translation

ANALYSIS

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

1.  First word is the name of the character "Gregory Samsa" - character immediately introduced

2. "woke" - occurs in the present 

3. "giant bug" - imagery is very vague, basic word choice, unsure of species or specific appearance

4. "uneasy dreams" - uncomfortable, anxiety inducing dreams

5. active voice, third person

→ missing "bed", uses "changed", "Gregory"

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

1. First word is "When" - reflecting upon an event (narrative to analysis)

2. "awoke" "found" - occurs in the past

3. "enormous bug" - adjective is strong/exaggerated, emphasizes the absurdity

4. "troubled dreams" - anxious, caused by problem

5. active voice, third person

→ missing "himself"

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

1. First word is "As" - focus on the character's action

2. "awoke" "found" - occurs in the past

3. "gigantic insect" - adjective strong/exaggerated, scientific name used, more specific species

4. "uneasy dreams" - uncomfortable, anxiety inducing dreams

5. active voice, third person

→ contains the most similarities

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

1. First word is "One morning" - shows the morning was not anticipated to be unusual 

2. "awakening" "found" - occurs in the past

3. "monstrous vermin" - evil connotation, large size implied, imagery exemplifies disgust 

4. "agitated dreams" - disturbed, triggered dreams 

5. passive voice, third person

→ numerous asides

RESPONSE

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? 

Despite each translation having a different structure, the general tone was consistent except for one part - the adjectives used to describe Gregor's appearance.  Each quote shared its effect on the audience in which a sense of confusion and shock is portrayed.  This can be acquitted to the general absurdity of the situation, dealing with a man turning into a bug. 

The strength of the adjectives stood out to me, with translations with more general wording relying on the content of the situation to portray the tone, while stronger adjectives focused on the appearance of the character as being the absurd piece.  It is clear that each translation has a different intention for what is being portrayed to the audience.  For example, the first translation is intended to simplify the storyline for English speaking audiences, by changing the character's name from the original to "Gregory" and using the least amount of words, while the fourth shows the contrast of the character from his implied past, with strong adjectives focusing on the details of his "transformation".  

Each translation is effective in telling the plot of the story, but varies in what the audience takes from the book.  Rather than the author's own intention being shown, the translator's interpretation of the author's intention is shown.  Even in reading one version of an original text, readers tend to interpret the author's intention in a different way.  Even in class while reading Macbeth, every student zoned in on different aspects (each of which varied in analysis) to create their own impression.  In translating the text, the words chosen are those that the translation assumes to be fitting to the authors personal partial intention.  With this, neither translation is more effective than another on a general level because they are the most accurate in depicting the translator's personal interpretation of the original text.  

With translation, the reader is learning the story through a unique perspective.  In understanding story and plot, translations are effective.  This means that readers are able to analyze the piece of literature just as well and just as in depth as if they were reading the original.  However, what cannot be easily gathered is an analysis of the original author.   This is especially when analyzing the text in depth, where the placement of a singular comma can contribute to the unique understanding the reader has gathered.  How each word and each sentence fits together is what creates the story and, therefore, the meaning and purpose behind it.