Journal #12: Translation

1. I personally prefer Ward's translation, which may only be because I read his version first. The translation done by Gilbert, though tremendously more eloquent than Ward's, is too heavy for me. The narration and dialogue seem to be bogged down by too many commas, colons, and semicolons. It gets very obnoxious to read after a while. There is also the fact that Gildbert's translation is a lot more formal than Ward's, which ages Meursault quite a bit in my eyes. Ward's edition of Camus' novel is very bland with a more removed main character that is extremely difficult to relate to, which I think is appropriate. Meursault is not a character that the reader necessarily needs to identify with. I actually think the book has more impact with fewer adjectives and metaphors because of  how focus Meursault seems to be on the physical world. His obsessions are harder to keep track of in Gilbert's translation because of the more complex wording used. The characterization of Mersault suffers when interpreted by Gilbert.
2. The Stranger fits best, in my opinion. The sharpness of the title is what draws your eyes to the book. It is mysterious and somewhat misleading, much like Meursault. When you take the literal definition of the word 'stranger', it means, "a person with whom one has no personal acquaintance." This is appropriate given Ward's translation. Meursault remains unknown to the reader, even until the conclusion of the novel. Camus as interpreted through Ward leaves a lot of room for guesswork in his literature, and I believe that this is what was intended. I enjoy when authors leave some things to the imagination. Gilbert's version was just too structured.