From Titans to Humankind: A Psychoanalytical Approach to Eren Yeager

Type of Presentation

Textual Analysis

Description

.

Abstract

Imagine living your life concealed in 50 meters walls and being taught that the citizens within these walls were the last living humans on Earth. And outside those walls that are protecting them are man-eating humanoids called Titans. Attack on Titan is a Japanese tv show where the plot’s focus is on a civilization trapped behind three sets of walls. Throughout the series, we, the viewers, watch as our main characters deal with death, grief, betrayal, and vengeance. However, Eren Yeager, one of the show’s protagonists, goes through the most change, and we can see that shift as time continues. In season one, Eren’s views on exterminating the Titans out of his homeland were interpreted as morally good and heroic to the citizens as opposed to his views within season four, where we see his desire to obliterate a whole country on the other side of the ocean. With his notion of eliminating a country, he interpreted it as his definition of good while everyone else began to see him as evil. The evolution of Eren Yeager illustrates how the meaning of good can be interpreted differently depending on the character, and how the factors of conflict can play a major role in the interpretations. Considering Attack on Titan through a psychoanalytical approach, we can observe the mindset of Eren and how the themes of war help develop the transition from him being the hero to the anti-hero.

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Beth Howells

Department of Primary Presenter's Major

Department of Literature

Location

Room 2041

Symposium Year

2023

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Apr 19th, 6:00 PM Apr 19th, 7:00 PM

From Titans to Humankind: A Psychoanalytical Approach to Eren Yeager

Room 2041

Imagine living your life concealed in 50 meters walls and being taught that the citizens within these walls were the last living humans on Earth. And outside those walls that are protecting them are man-eating humanoids called Titans. Attack on Titan is a Japanese tv show where the plot’s focus is on a civilization trapped behind three sets of walls. Throughout the series, we, the viewers, watch as our main characters deal with death, grief, betrayal, and vengeance. However, Eren Yeager, one of the show’s protagonists, goes through the most change, and we can see that shift as time continues. In season one, Eren’s views on exterminating the Titans out of his homeland were interpreted as morally good and heroic to the citizens as opposed to his views within season four, where we see his desire to obliterate a whole country on the other side of the ocean. With his notion of eliminating a country, he interpreted it as his definition of good while everyone else began to see him as evil. The evolution of Eren Yeager illustrates how the meaning of good can be interpreted differently depending on the character, and how the factors of conflict can play a major role in the interpretations. Considering Attack on Titan through a psychoanalytical approach, we can observe the mindset of Eren and how the themes of war help develop the transition from him being the hero to the anti-hero.