#1:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
Analysis: Uneasy creates a mysterious and tense mood, transformed sounds very magical and insect sounds much more vile than the word bug, syntax makes the sentence feel like its building up to the end, "as" makes it sound like you are listening to a live broad cast of what is happening which makes you feel closer to the action

#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
Analysis: uneasy has the same effect as before but in this one giant bug sounds very child like and comical which adds to the idea of absurdity, 

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

Analysis: troubled creates more worry for gregor than the mystery uneasy creates, enormous has a more serious and sinister tone but bug still conveys they same playful immaturity, the use of when makes the actions sound very removed- i'm not sure of the effect here? 

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

Analysis: awakening makes gregor sound important like waking up is a ceremony, agitated makes gregor appear angry where as in the other the adjective choices doesn't really reflect on gregor, monstrous vermin is very important because vermin is much more open to interpretation than insect or bug and monstrous makes me thing of Frankenstein, round about syntax builds suspense 

How does the word choice and imagery shift in each affect meaning? Is one more effective than another? Why? 

The fourth translation is the one I like the most. I don't think we can say which is the most effective without knowing they character. The fourth translation does a good job of building suspense, keeping a serious tone, and describing what gregor transforms into. First, I will look at syntax. The fourth sentence is split into many different phrase which makes the reader curious by slowing down the pace. Two and Three are just a long sentence with no breaks which doesn't add much. The first translation has an introductory phrase which does slow the pace down but not as much as the fourth translation. The next important piece of style is the adjective used to describe the dream. Uneasy is used in 1 and 2 and is there way of created curiosity instead of syntax. Troubled makes gregor seem like a victim and the reader feels bad for him instead of scared like the fourth. In the fourth, agitated is used and it creates a feeling of danger. It couples with the curiosity created by the syntax to make a very tense and anxious mood. The final important part of style is describing the create gregor becomes. The first uses gigantic insect which is a powerful choice. Insect creates a really vile image. The second and third are basically the same. Bug is a bad choice. It creates a childish feeling and makes the monster hes become feel cute and cuddly. The final description is monstrous vermin. This is another very power description. Monstrous is used to describe his size but it also implies a vile and disgusting side. Vermin is another powerful word. Bug and insect are both relatively clear in their descriptions but vermin could be anything from a rat to a wasp. Also vermin are normally a danger to society and are persecuted. Ultimately, the fourth translation is the most effective at creating a disgusting image that the reader takes seriously.

What does this exercise bring up about the difficulty of reading translated texts? How do different translations effect the tone of the sentence? 

It shows how you aren't reading the original novel, you are reading the translators interpretation of the novel. Also if a sentence has a very dark tone that can be communicated in many different ways. If the original text used pace to convey that, the translation might use diction or a metaphor which is once again the translators interpretation of the novel. The interpreter may not even be aware that they are doing this. Someones when I read a text I cant put my finger one what is affecting me but something about the text creates a certain feeling. This concept can be seen in these translations as I discussed above briefly.