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.