"Breathing dreams like air..."

1. How would you describe the “American Dream?”

The American Dream is an idealistic belief in a life which perfectly upholds the values the United States is believed to have. The common person defines the dream as having 2.5 kids and a house with a white, picket fence. This person would see kids who group up normally and fit in without problems, then going to college and doing well for themselves while the parents coast on a typical retirement kick.

2. What is your definition of wealth?

My definition of wealth is that wealth is an accumulation of ideas or items considered to be of value. 

3. What are Americans’ attitudes toward wealth and poverty?

In America, the citizens are more likely to reward the person who is wealthy for whatever he or she has done to obtain his or her status, while the same citizens want to punish people who must have done something wrong in order to be impoverished. It is hypocritical. In the same breath, these are the people who praise underdogs and love rags-to-riches stories. The common beliefs are that a person status and wealth are reflected by character rather than luck or even birth. Since everyone believes that even has an equal chance, it is not a long reach for the people to believe if someone is poor, then it is of his or her own doing rather than chance.

4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?

I believe wealth is a corrupting factor, at least in America. The wealthy perpetuate a system of bigotry against those who do not mirror their own kind. The impoverished are then left in mass branded as invalids. The current system feeds into itself. The one we have only grows despite the common belief that even has an equal chance in America. If everyone is equal, then parents would not move to choose schools based upon location and demographics. The divide between the two in America is almost perfectly archetypal. Dangerously close to the Roman elite with "panem et circenses" and Bourgeoisie "let them eat cake". 

Nothing Really Mattress

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

-"uneasy" leads one to feel almost ill or sick
-"awoke" is more sophisticated than "woke"
-"transformed" sounds more scientific than, say, "change"

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

-"woke" and "changed" are both more plain and common 
-"to find" is used instead of "he found" which makes the discovery less personal

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

-"troubled" makes the dreams sound as if it's them who have the problem rather than Gregor

-"his bed" is mentioned making it more descriptive and personal

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

-the prepositional phrase "in his bed" is separated by commas clouding the sentence and removing the flow the other sentences have

-"monstrous" makes the bug, or "vermin", seem much more horrid as in "bug" being replaced by "vermin"

How does the word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery shift in each affect meaning? 

Word choice change the meaning relating to the connotations. Connotation is what the reader brings into the picture. The implied meaning that isn't written. Syntax is what paints the word picture in your head. The order that the words are in places the emphasis in different parts and can even affect how the connotation is being read. Punctuation allows for the syntax to stay, but still change the emphasis. Punctuation can also affect the mood and the whole way the sentence is supposed to be interpreted. Imagery shift has a main effect on the setting and scene that's occurring. It ties in what isn't there and helps the reader to finish the scene in their head. 

Is one more effective than another?Why? 

The most effective one is word choice because connotations are everything. Connotations can even take over the denotation of the word.

What does this exercise bring up about the difficulty of reading translated texts? 

It illustrates how translating a text steals the soul out of the work. The translator must take great liberties and can never truly express the meaning because of the word choice. The author wrote it in that language for a reason.

How do different translations effect the tone of the sentence? 

The connotations of the different words in the different translations can completely change how the reader reads or interprets the narrator. A gigantic insect is gross in some people's minds and not in others, but if you want to cement the grossness of the insect, calling it a "monstrous vermin" seals the deal. It even conjures up images of dirty mice.