Life is but a dream

Where I am today can be attributed largely in part to the idea of the American Dream. In my opinion, the American Dream can be defined as the ideal ability for ANYone to be able to come to the United States and achieve success, no matter where one comes from or what his/her past is like. I was born in Argentina and moved to the US with my family when I was only two years old. Since then, we have been blessed with the ability to work hard in order to be successful and achieve our goals. Fortunately, in our particular case, our cultural background has not significantly hindered our capacity to become as prosperous as we desire - I have received a wonderful education, been admitted into amazing universities, and received a very prestigious scholarship, and my parents have stable jobs, like many other American citizens.

However, I know that this is not the case for all immigrants. Sadly enough, many are not given equal opportunities or do not receive the fair and equal treatment that they deserve. In an ideal world, all individuals would be able to have the same shot at success - if one works hard, he/she achieves the goals they set out to reach. The fact that this is not a reality has to do with Americans' attitudes. There are many Americans that simply do not possess open mindedness or have a mindset that is all-encompassing of various perspectives, cultures, and races. Many of these Americans are the same individuals that have very strong opinions about wealth, and poverty. There is a very widespread perception held by many in America that being wealthy (money-wise, in this case) is synonymous with being happy, and that if one is rich, he/she has achieved the ultimate goal. Because of this, many believe that those who immigrate to the United States from other countries do so as a result of a desire to take opportunities, money, and wealth away from the citizens that already live in America. Most of the time, at least in my opinion, this is a misconception and cannot be rationally argued. Nonetheless, it is the stance of many in this country.

I am personally of the opinion that all should be given equal rights, opportunities, and the same ability to succeed. I think that my beliefs are derived greatly from my personal context - being an immigrant from Argentina. I have experienced firsthand what it is like to work hard, in another country, and not be recognized or rewarded for it. What is so great about the United States, or at least the potential that it has, is that if one works hard here, he/she can succeed and receive the accolades they deserve. This is a very large factor, from my background, that influences my hardworking nature. As a result, my personal definition of wealth does not revolve so much around money, but more so just abundance or profusion of anything. Wealth to me is synonymous with plentifulness, happiness, and achievement, but not necessarily associated with money. In my opinion, money cannot buy happiness. The American Dream is about being successful as defined by an INDIVIDUAL's definition of success and achievement. Success means different things for different people and that is okay. What is not okay is denying others the right to be successful.

http://mtv.mtvnimages.com/uri/mgid:file:http:shared:mtv.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/giphy-1428353661.gif

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): "Gregor Samsa" = original German name; "awoke" rather than "woke" = more active, more formal; "uneasy" vs "troubled" or "agitated" = less gravity, more simple, less dramatic; "transformed" rather than "changed" = more of a change; makes the reader think that more drastic measures took place; "gigantic insect" = more formal than "bug", but less extreme than "monstrous"
• syntax: lack of commas (should be one after "dreams")
• imagery/details: includes "in his bed" unlike some of the other translations which adds another detail into the mix/creates a more detailed visual for the reader; "gigantic insect" leaves a lot of interpretation
• structure: by beginning with "As" it feels like much more of story-like sentence than some of the others; the act of being changed into a bug is perhaps not as emphasized in this sentence, in comparison with the others

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

• diction: changed to "Gregory" rather than "Gregor = loses original German vibe; "woke" = less active/less commonly used ('woke' is more often used in combination with the word 'up'); "changed" = less drastic than "transformed"; "bug" = more simple than "insect," and therefore more easily understandable/conversational
• syntax: active voice; lack of punctuation of any sort
• imagery/details: "bug" and "changed" are much less detailed/not as descriptive; leave less room for interpretation or imaginative thinking
• structure: very straightforward and to the point w/ active voice; by starting with "Gregory Samsa," it gets straight to the point of the sentence without a lot of extra 'fluff" or elaboration

#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" is more negatively connotated than "uneasy"; "transformed" = more extreme than changed, implies that this change into a bug is more significant; "enormous," although different from "gigantic" has a very similar connotation, both express very large sizes
• syntax: lack of commas - should be one after "morning" and could be commas around "in his bed"; very wordy/lacking proper and/or sufficient punctuation
• imagery/details: "troubled" implies that Gregor's dreams are more negative and the reader therefore thinks of more scary/disturbing potential dreams; including "in his bed" adds another detail to the description
• structure: cause-and-effect structure; by beginning with "when...", it sets the stage for the main action - "he found he had been transformed"

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

• diction: German "Gregor"; "upon awakening" = much more formal; "agitated" = very dramatic word-choice. loaded word; "monstrous vermin" = very elevated vocabulary. much less commonplace, along with "transformed"
• syntax: much more punctuation and commas; "upon awakening from agitated dreams" and "in his bed," because enclosed by commas, are more of side-notes and are to be treated with less importance
• imagery/details: a lot of imagery present as a result of the elevated and dramatized language; "monstrous vermin," for example, allows the reader to think up the most terrible visual possible
• structure: introductory clause; happening in the past; story-like with details enclosed in commas

The shifts in diction, syntax, imagery, punctuation, and structure in each of these translations greatly affect the meaning. Although the sentence being described never changed, simple alterations and tweaks to it made it seem as though each new phrase was initially created, from scratch, on its own. Where emphasis is placed in a sentence greatly determines how the reader will read it and what he/she will learn from it. For example, with the first translation, it flows through very nicely, lacking sufficient punctuation, and forms a story-like narrative. Since this sentence is so one-toned and rolls off the tongue very easily, the reader might not realize the significance of the transformation of Gregor as quickly or as easily, compared with the other translations. Additionally, the fourth translation includes a lot more commas and is much more punctuated, which has the effect of hinting at the reader what is most important in the sentence and what is merely extra detail or description. The phrases "upon awakening from agitated dreams" and "in his bed" are both enclosed by commas and therefore imply that they should not be emphasized as much as the main point of the sentence - that Gregor Samsa found himself transformed into a bug.

I think that the last translation, which utilizes punctuation the most, is the most effective because by emphasizing key components of the situation at hand, it most clearly illustrates the element of absurdity. It also is the translation that uses the most elevated and advanced diction, with words and phrases such as "upon awakening," "agitated," and "monstrous vermin." With descriptive vocabulary like this comes imagery and the ability for the reader to interpret the content for his or herself and visually imagine the scenario.

It was so easy to describe each sentence in a unique way, which, in this case, is not a good thing. Theoretically, it should have been very hard for me to find meaningful differences between the various translations because that would mean that they were translated well and true to the original. This brings up the difficulty of reading translated texts - How can we be sure that what we are reading is what the author really wanted us to read? How can we be sure that it hasn't been altered enough for the meaning to change? This activity has made me much more aware of the dangers of translating and has made me realize how much altering even just a few words can change the meaning and tone of a sentence, especially because The Stranger was translated.