I dream a dream of Memes gone by(e)

The "American Dream" is something that gives people hope. It is the idea that no matter what your current situation is, you can become successful by being in the right place, at the right time, and by working hard. For many this place and time was America in the 1920s, just after the war when all anyone ever did was party. I think that most people thought America was the right place to pursue their dreams because America was once just a dream too. It became its own country after a long struggle for freedom and many bloody wars. Just after the most recent one in that time, America came back richer than ever and many people saw this as a time of opportunity.

America is the "Land of Opportunity" and one of its top tourist attractions was "freedom".

Wealth doesn't have to be having a lot of money. Even less so if you end up spending it all on dumb things :P I think wealth is having health, people that care about you, and being content with life so long as you can support yourself in the long run. Wealth is also sharing it with less fortunate people because spreading good fortune is good karma. Then you can probably sleep more soundly at night knowing that your actions are benefiting someone out there.


I think Americans' always associate wealth with having big mansions and 10 flat screen TVs or 20 cars and poverty is always that picture of the emaciated kid in Africa and scary bird. Those are usually the 2 extremes.
In reality it's less mild than that for the most part. Poverty is too common in America and still is a big problem. Especially in New York (and other big cities) where there aren't enough jobs or space for people to live. Most of the homeless population live in shelters with other homeless people. They work odd jobs and can't relocate because of their kids or just having no way to get around.

Article about Increase of Homeless Women in New York

Wealth is usually the Kardashians, but they aren't that rich.. they just like to flaunt their money. Because of them wealth (for a majority) has become more about what designer clothes to get, how many different shades of contour can fit on one face, and having 1231 cars. This generation where social media is at the forefront of marketing sells too much of material goods, which I guess is what everyone was obsessed with in the 1920s. Having more meant you were rich. That isn't true though and we still haven't learned that lesson.

Wealth should be succeeding and doing things that make a positive difference in the world. Otherwise, wealth doesn't mean much. For example, Bill Gates is still the richest billionaire at $79.2 billion net worth. He has the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation to help bring people out of poverty and stop world hunger and partners with different companies and students to aid in providing education. He has a giant aquarium in his house too but he also has a massive library with The Great Gatsby quotes on the ceiling, so it's ok. He earned it (for the right reasons)!! He has wealth but lives a meaningful life with it.


When it comes down to it I think that wealth should just occur naturally from doing the things you are passionate about doing. From watching a season of Keeping up with the Kardashians, even though they probably spend enough money to feed a small country, they stick together and work hard. Wealth shouldn't mean leaving family behind and blindly chasing something. That would just lead to failure. Sometimes it's difficult to find your way in the world and having family is important for support. They will also be there to tell you that one girl isn't worth dying for... that could've been helpful to Gatsby.
Wealth is being proud of where you came from and working towards making things better for everyone. Feeling fulfillment from doing good things is a better motivator than money and makes a positive difference.

Poverty is most of the time due to circumstances and there isn't an easy solution. Other times it is because of making bad decisions. Either way, I think America values wealth too much and doesn't pay enough attention to poverty. It's all about selling an image and also about getting to the top without thinking much about the bigger picture. The system doesn't allow them to get out of it either. From having health insurance, to housing and clothing, and having a car, among other things there's no way!!! We all fear it but not enough of us do the things that can change it. That's way Trump is popular smh. He knows how to work the system and knows how to make big promises that appeal to people. THEEENN people (like my parents) who don't do their research thinks it's going to benefit them when it probably won't. So yeah. It's all because of the American Dream. Making impossible become possible, but with no strong foundation to begin with. It all comes crashing down!!!
(Ok I may be a fatalist but that doesn't mean it can't happen)

"I woke up like this/ We flawless, ladies tell 'em" - Beyonce

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

• Diction- his word choice is pretty straightforward. 
• Syntax- No pauses; lack of punctuation
• Imagery/details- uneasy dreams; transformed; gigantic insect
• Structure- sentence is structured so that Gregor is in the process of waking up and finding himself transformed. It is in the past tense but it denotes he discovered it as he woke up. Something like he put his foot out and realized it wasn't a foot.
• Other stylist/figurative elements

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

• Diction- like the first one it is straightforward. Less emphatic choice of words than the first sentence.
• Syntax- lack of punctuation, "one morning" and "from uneasy dreams" swaps places
• Imagery/details- uneasy dreams; changed; giant bug.
• Structure- in the past tense again but seems more like he woke up then figured out he changed into a bug after a while. Less drawn out than the other sentences.
• Other stylist/figurative elements- It omits the "in his bed part"; Gregor is now Gregory.

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

• Diction-  This seems to combine word choice from the first 2 sentences. Changes "uneasy" to "troubled" and "gigantic/giant" to "enormous"; same meaning but kind of gives a different feel to the scene. Connotation is a tad bit more negative, not by much. 
• Syntax- lack of punctuation, pretty much the same as the first sentence.
• Imagery/details- troubled dreams and enormous bug makes it seem pretty absurd, unexpected, and dark. "Troubled" is a little more negative than "uneasy"
• Structure- The same as the first sentence except "as" is replaced by "when". Gives it a story-teller vibe.
• Other stylist/figurative elements

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

• Diction: Word Choice is more severe than the previous sentences. 
• Syntax: uses more commas into several short clauses. Drawn out and long. 
• Imagery/details- imagery words describes a nightmare -- waking up from agitated dreams ro find oneself a monster. Strikes fear in the heart -- kind of reminds me of J&H because "monstrous" and "agitated" dreams seems like Jekyll transforming in his sleep.
• Structure: Starts with one morning unlike the other sentences. Separating the sentence into parts makes the transformation a little more dramatic.
• Other stylist/figurative elements

http://wonderful-language-sounds.tumblr.com/post/140570081861/translation-is-a-tricky-businessshould-you-do-a

The word choice changes the impact the scene makes on the reader and the severity of Gregor's discovery. The words chosen can make the scene very dark and fearful or just strange without the darkness. The sentences that include the "in his bed" part show how everything is good and orderly except... he discovers he's a bug. By omitting the "in his bed" part, the second sentence doesn't really tell us much about the setting, just that it's morning. #2 is the shortest sentence and cuts to the chase. I think it is more underwhelming than the other 3. The diction is pretty drab and only elementary school kids would think it surprising. Its pace is quick and there is not much of a lead-up. He just woke up and was like "oh I'm a bug." The last sentence is the only one that uses a lot of punctuation and I think this stresses the ominous tone as well as describes the transformation in an actually scary way. He's literally a monster, not just a "bug". The pauses are effective when paired with the word choice because it is more suspenseful and leads up to a reveal more so than the other sentences. The lack of punctuation in the other sentences makes it seem kind of matter-of-fact. Like he already knew it was going to happen.

I think #3 and #4 both include more effective imagery words than the first 3. They both describe the transformation as something dreadful while the other 2 don't really attach much of a negative connotation to the insect part. I guess bugs aren't bad or scary fundamentally, we just don't like them. Sentence 3 uses the word "troubled" to describe the dream and "troubled" usually is negative i.e troubled upbringing, troubled teen... very traumatic. So even though he was merely a bug, it still affected his mental, in contrast to "uneasy" which seems somewhat less severe. The best imagery is in #4 I think. I just like "agitated" and "monstrous vermin". Even though "vermin" isn't necessarily the same thing as "bug", we know he transformed into something nasty!! Vermin encompasses more unwanted pests than the simple "bug". It serves to bring kind of a Gothic literature feel, with the monster element and the uncanny... where Gregor is not as he appears. The sentence structure helps because there are so many pauses that once you get to the last part of the sentence it's got some zest. You got the "agitated dreams" foreshadowing something bad and then bam! He's a monster. It's probably significant that each clause adds on more details. It reads kind of like a movie where they don't quickly reveal the whole shot but reveal little by little to keep the viewer intrigued.

There isn't really any way to figure out which text is most effective because they all appeal to different sorts of audiences and there isn't a single interpretation of Gregor's actions to go from. Some make the discovery more suspenseful and some make it more quizzical. Imagery and word choice change the tone a lot because the words used portray him differently in each. He could be scary or just gross. It is difficult reading translated texts because just one sentence can change the characterization or tone of the whole thing. Word choice and punctuation have many variations and who's to say there is one correct way to translate a sentence? So we may never know what the actual text reads like. There are also many words that do not have English equivalents. So there are many limitations based just on language and the meaning conveyed.

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