Nothing Really Mattress

#1
- The diction is casual, almost discreet as if nothing important happened.
- The fact that he was transformed into a giant insect comes at the end, making it seem the least important.
- The uneasy dreams create a relatable scene, the gigantic insect is vivid and easy to imagine.
- The structure makes the fact that he transformed seem unimportant as opposed to the morning he awoke, and the uneasy dreams.

#2
- The diction is less descriptive
- It flows nicely, like a short and simple sequence of events.
- It seems like a happy scene, not as scary or intimidating as the others.
- The structure is very laid back, almost like a minor addition to an account of daily events.

#3
- The diction places more importance on the event that occurred. Anticipation is created by using the word "when."
- Troubled dreams comes before the morning, placing emphasis on the tragedy of the situation.
- "Troubled dreams" create a sense of discomfort. "Enormous bug" also creates a disturbing image.
- Structure adds to the feeling of discomfort and fear.

#4
- The diction creates suspense and fear.
- The use of all the commas with the frightening diction adds to the suspense and creates a feeling of fear.
- "Monstrous vermin" creates a terrifying image; very scary imagery.
- Structure helps build suspense up to the final part of the sentence where he was "transformed into a monstrous vermin."


The literary choices in the first translation make the event seem somewhat casual. However, the use of the word "insect" creates a sense of peculiarity and fear. In the second translation, the literary choices are similar, but I would argue that the events seem even more casual or discreet. The terminology and chronology in the third translation sort of takes the fear out of the sentence and almost makes it seem playful. The fourth translation is simply terrifying. I feel like he is still in a nightmare when it is translated in this way. This definitely strikes the most fear into the reader. As we see, the shift of literary devices in each translation can shift the meaning of each from casual to playful to terrifying, all depending on the connotation of each.

I would not argue that one is more effective than the other, because they are each effective in their own way. If the goal was to make the translation seem intense and terrifying, I would definitely argue that the fourth translation was the most effective. This is because the use of stops (commas) builds suspense and the diction (monstrous vermin) creates very scary mental images. However, if the goal was to make the incident seem as discreet as possible, I would say that the second translation was the most effective. This is because it is concise, there are no breaks in the sentence, and the imagery is less vivid than the others. The effectiveness of each translation varies depending on the intent of the original author.

This shows that texts can be interpreted in very different ways depending on the translation. If the book is translated with a different tone from the original text, it could completely change the meaning of the story through its literary aspects. The more a reader reads a certain translation, the more astray they could become. This is why translating texts accurately is so difficult yet so important. It is also why there is so much controversy about the translations of very significant works of literature such as religious texts (I have had personal experience reading different translations of the bible). I suppose the only way to obtain an authentic understanding of a translated text is to learn to read it in its original language.