Final Project - Third Entry MRojo

Comparative Essay

Read the following articles and write a comparative essay discussing the effect translation has on Cortazar's writing style of no less than 400 words.  It is due Sun. April 24.

Cortazar’s was an argentine novelist and translator, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom in the twentieth century. His works nowadays are considered as treasures, but he not only influenced the American continent but the entire world. This was possible thanks to the translations of his works. In fact he’s considered as the most translated argentine author in history with a record of 44 different languages.

What translators do is to rewrite in a second language a work originally written in a certain language so that the reader of the second language could be able to completely understand the text in an emotional and artistic way. The aim of a translator is to keep the same meanings as the original, so two readers with different languages could experience and perceive what the author is intending. So Cortazar originally wrote his works in Spanish and they have been translated by other authors in several languages.

Within Cortazar’s writing style we can find several allusions of surrealism, but there’s also reality in his texts. He also includes in his works themes of political and human rights such as some episodes he lived in Argentina when there was a totalitarian regime. This works are most known for being strong representations of the Latin American culture. So the work of a translator whose aim is to recreate those same things into a different language, gets really complicated because of the strong meaning that Cortazar originally gave to his works. That’s why not anyone can do a Cortazar’s translation; there must be a person who has a complete domain and a keen sense of style in both languages.

Some of the most relevant elements that a translator must have in mind are: the rhythm of the prose, the progress of the actions, the elegance of the language, and the changes with the points of view. Cortazar’s sentences are long, full of descriptions and meanings. His works are full with symbols and motifs that indirectly explain some sort of meaning of the Hispanic American culture, such as the title of one of his short story Axolotl. So the translator of his works must connect two different cultures. This will help to expand knowledge, thoughts and feelings from Cortazar’s time and society.

Cortazar had gain a lot of popularity and prestige around the world, because of his translations. The reason why writers write is in order to influence as many people as possible, and Cortazar achieved this thanks to his translations.