Translation Mutation

The four translations of Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt.

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

Of all of the translations, this one seems the most 'incorrect'.  It is odd to say out loud because the syntax is rather unusual.  This translation could use a few commas or have the sentence split into two.  The language here is rather childish and seems as if it were to be said by a middle school student.  The use of "gigantic insect" seems immature and is something my little sister would say.

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

This translation seems like it would be from a doctor's notebook because the sentence is simple and to the point.  There is not a lot of detail included here, just enough to describe the necessary points and it is easy to say out loud.  This sentence is recalling an event rather than telling it as it happened.

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

This translation is like the first in that it is very long and awkward to say aloud.  It seems like it could have been split into two sentences after "one morning".  This translation is quite descriptive and has a word choice that is more descriptive than the second translation.  This translation seems like something you would find from a young adult or youth chapter book because it is complex, but not over the top.

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

Of all the translations, this is my favorite because I think it sounds the best.  The use of commas help for the reader to make sense of this translation because it breaks of all of the ideas.  The vocabulary here is the best of all the translations and the sentence is very descriptive.  I also think the sentence sounds better when Gregor Samsa's name is mentioned in the middle of the sentence and not in the beginning.

Word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery shift in each translation affects the meaning quite a lot.  From all four translations we get the basic message that Gregor woke up and found that he was a bug.  But by using different words and different syntax each translation has it's own effect, giving the reader a different image about what is going on with Gregor.  I think that syntax is the most effective at changing meaning of a sentence.  At first I thought it would be word choice, but word choice only really changes context surrounding the sentence.  Changing the format of a sentence is the most effective because it can change the sequence of events and how things happen.

This exercise brings up a few very important points about the difficulty of reading translated texts.  For one, the word choice of the author cannot be analyzed as much and an English text because one word can be translated many different ways.  Another point is that reading one translation of a text can have a completely different effect on a reader compared to another translation.  Different translations effect the tone of a sentence by either changing it or enforcing it.  If the translator does not understand the tone of the author, they could change the tone which ultimately effects how a reader interprets a text.  Translation is very important especially in The Stranger because the first sentence, which is often argued about, has a big effect on the entire text.  The first sentence of a text layouts a tone for the whole work, so it is important to get it right.

IOC (I Often Cried)

My passage:

Self Grading:

A: Knowledge and understanding of the text or extract
5 - The majority of what I claimed was supported by the text, although sometimes what I was saying was a bit of a stretch.  I believe my understanding of this excerpt in relation to the text as a whole was okay.

B: Understanding the use and effects of literary features
4 - I believe that I talked a lot about the use of literary features in this text, but I did not speak as often about the effects of the literary features.  My analysis of literary features overall was average.

C: Organization
3 - I think that my presentation was decently organized and it made logical sense when I listened to it.  I adhered to the plan I had set out for myself when I said my thesis statement.

D: Language
4 - My language in this presentation was pretty casual and I did pause and misspeak a few times.  I may or may not have deserved a 3, but I gave myself a 4 with the assumption that casual language was okay.

**Although this practice IOC was nowhere near exemplary, it was very helpful for me because I now have a better understanding of what I struggle with and need to improve on.**

Freebie

Although I watched a TED talk and I will likely regret this, I am taking my freebie!  I got a new puppy and he's more fun to play with than writing.

More Noir

Film noir literally means "black film."  As you are watching the film, keep track of all the elements in the picture that seem dark or depressing.  Thinking about the characters, the setting, and the storyline.

As you may know, IB Film 2 has previously studied Double Indemnity and analyzed it for its film noir characteristics, so if you consider this post anything other than perfect you're wrong.  I'm kind of an expert in this subject.

So film noir is a basically a style of black and white film that includes characteristics like low-key lighting, a crime, and ultimately a main character that has a downfall.  It was heavily influenced by a filmic genre from the 20s called German expressionism.

One dark/depressing element of the film was the use of lighting to create shadows.  Throughout the entire movie there were shadows displayed from characters which gave me sort of an eerie feeling.  A specific shadow that was used in this movie and was commonly used in film noir is venetian blinds.  Light from outside would protrude through the window and the blinds, which in turn left a creepy shadow in the room.  This was often displayed on the faces of the characters.  Lighting in this movie was also used to send messages and communicate.  An example of this is when Phyllis flashed the lights on her car to let Walter know where she was.

Another dark/depressing element of this film is the fact that a large amount of the events take place at night.  First off, Walter Neff is telling the whole story at night which makes the whole story seem dark.  Also, a lot of sneaking around is done at night, plus the actually murder takes place at night.  The use of the night time makes the movie seem dark because you can't necessarily see everything in the camera's frame.

The storyline in this movie is quite depressing, but the fact of the matter is that all film noir movies are like this.  This movie fits the film noir genre quite well in terms of plot because a seductive woman convinces a man to commit a crime, a crime that is violent.  The ending enforces the film noir genre because the man is ultimately betrayed by the woman that promised him so many things.  This depressing yet thrilling storyline was quite popular during the 40s around the time of film noir because it was new and never done before.

Overall this movie is very dark and depressing because of the adultery and corruption in the plot which is expressed through the main characters.  Film noir was popular because of it contained elements like the ones in Double Indemnity and it grasped the viewer with a suspenseful thriller that was new to the film world.

A Queue for You

So I heard you like Netflix, and you're reading Macbeth.  Well I happen to know a few movies Macbeth himself might tell you to watch.  As you can imagine he enjoys watching movies that relate to his personality.  I enjoy all of Macbeth's recommendations, but you can make that decision for yourself.

The Wolf of Wall Street:  This movie was recently added to Netflix, like within the past 2 or 3 days. This 3 hour movie shows how an ambitious man came to Wall Street and was ultimately greatly influenced by his surroundings.  The main character would ultimately become caught up in his own greed and this leads to his downfall.  Macbeth would recommend this movie because he would enjoy Jordan Belfort's (the main character) ambition and would appreciate how successful he was at one point.  We might understand more about Macbeth's drive to be king after seeing this recommendation.

Django Unchained:  This movie was also recently added to Netflix and is highly regarded by critics. A bounty hunter buys a slave and takes him under his wing making him his apprentice.  He teaches him the trade and lets him enjoy being free.  Throughout this movie many people are killed and much blood is shed.  There is one scene that is really brutal and could make even the strongest stomachs churn.  Macbeth would recommend this movie because his new gory personality would enjoy the bloody scenes and he could relate to all the killings.

Pain and Gain:  One of the manliest activities known in America today is weightlifting.  This movie is about a personal trainer who grows unhappy with his financial status and decides he wants to get rich.  He decides to con one of his clients and steals all of his money.  Eventually he is caught, which leads to being arrested and going to jail.  Macbeth would recommend this movie because he would enjoy its manly elements and also the "ambition" of the personal trainer.  After seeing this recommendation we could understand Macbeth's need to be more manly.

The Walking Dead:  A show even more popular than Sunday night football, The Walking Dead is loved by people everywhere.  When a virus spreads across the world turning people into zombies, Rick and a group of people struggle to survive in a world that is always changing.  Every episode puts you on your toes which could be why this show attracts so many viewers.  Macbeth would recommend this series because of its gory/bloody elements and he would find the idea of zombies interesting.

Macbeth and Fate

This blog post is a response to the following question:

3. Do you believe events in your life have been guided by fate or chance?  Why or why not?  Based on the text, what do you think Shakespeare's attitude was towards fate?  Does Macbeth have any choice in his actions or was everything predetermined? Use exampled from the text as your support.

As a 17 year old high school student, I have lived at home with my parents for my entire life.  Most of the major events in my life are somewhat related to my parents because they have been a huge part of my life since I was born.  I believe that the events that have happened so far in my life have been guided by fate.  My parents have morals and beliefs that they have taught me and through out my life I have had a set of expectations from my parents about what I should be doing with my life.  In the long run all of the things they want me to do will be helpful for my future (even though sometimes I don't want to do them).  The events that have happened to me so far are mostly because of things my parents want/influence/tell me to do and I believe that this has ultimately contributed to my success.

I think that if my parents adopted a child and raised it as their own, this kid would also be successful because of my parents influence on childhood.  I think that events in my life are guided by fate up until I end high school.  After that everything is up to chance because there are so many opportunities and choices that I must make as an adult.  There are many pathways I can take after I graduate from high school, but I believe that my whole life was fairly set from birth to high school.

Based on the text, I believe that Shakespeare's attitude towards fate is positive I think that he believes in it.  One reason I think this is because of the supernatural power. "Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter (Shakespeare 1.3)."  The use of a higher power (witches in this case) gives Shakespeare the ability to control the characters in whatever way he wants.  This higher power in some way controls Macbeth's life and sets Macbeth on a pathway to become king.

I think that Macbeth doesn't have any choice in his actions.  In the beginning Macbeth killed Duncan because of fate and the supernatural, and after that everything went downhill from there.  I think that fate allowed Macbeth to do this and it was predetermined that Macbeth would ultimately commit all of the evil deeds that he did.  In terms of Lady Macbeth, I think that her actions were influenced by Macbeth's, so her actions could be considered fate as well.

#IBmakingart

In late October the current IB classes were given the opportunity to visit the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) in downtown Raleigh.  This field trip was not all that it seemed; we had to write a blog post about what we saw there! For this blog post we have to analyze one exhibit in the museum and I chose one of the firsts one I saw.  When you come into the museum and look to the left you see a truly amazing piece of art.  One thousand bells hanging from the ceiling is definitely not something you see everyday, which is why I chose to analyze The Temple of One Thousand Bells.

Pictured below is a picture I took with my phone of The Temple of One Thousand Bells (The corner is messed up because I used panoramic mode) :

Below is my interpretation of The Temple of One Thousand Bells:

The title of the exhibit I am examining is The Temple of One Thousand Bells.  It was created by Laura Belem in 2010.  It was made with 1000 glass bells hung from the ceiling at different levels.  There are also speakers that play a sound recording that goes along with the bells.  The whole piece put together is about 14 feet long by 8 feet wide.

This piece of art is Latin American and the bells were put together collectively as a piece of art in 2010.

At first sight this work of art seems only like a visual piece of art, but after our tour guide turned on the sound track that goes along with the exhibit you can grasp a deeper understanding of this art.  This sound track gives the bells an meaning and makes them represent something.  There is a Latin American folklore story told about these bells that withheld an amazing sound.  These bells and the island they were on disappeared into the ocean, but people still said they heard the bells.  The bells in the exhibit do not have a clapper (the thing that hangs in the middle and makes the bell ring) and yet you can still hear bells ringing.  The sound of bells ringing is sounded though the speakers, but it creates the illusion that the bells above you are ringing just as the people in the story heard the bells.

The message in this art is really created through style.  The element that makes this art contemporary would probably be the art's simplicity.  The whole exhibit has black, white, or clear and there are no other colors.  The lack of color and complication forces the viewer to pay attention to the story being told.  The layout of the bells hung from the ceiling is very appealing because the bells are hung from different levels.  The other interesting element of the bells is that the amount of light in the museum changes the viewing experience.  The later in the day it gets the darker the exhibit gets and the brighter outside it is the more light there is that reflects off of the bells.

The purpose of this art is to represent a story and was created by the author to tell this story.  One function of this art is to display how art can be simple at the surface, yet have a deeper meaning below the surface.  Although this art looks cool and is appealing to the eye, there is a story behind it that I would have never thought was there at first glance.