Zeke Yeager is one ofAttack On Titan’s easiest characters to empathize with, butone of the hardest to fully understandin symbolic importance and narrative value. Zeke’s father was Grisha Yeager, born to Marley’s Eldian underclass and an Eldian Restorationist. Zeke was born to Grisha in Marley, and would eventually prompt his father’s deportation to Paradis Island.
A sympathetic officer lets Grisha off without being transformed into a Titan, and Grisha makes his way to the city within the walls. There, he would remarry and birth another child: Eren Yeager, who needs no introduction.
Zeke and Eren represent two very different perspectives as children of Marley and Paradis Island respectively, and are critical toAttack On Titan’s ending. Where Eren’s final plan is to enact the Rumbling for the absolute defense of Paradis Island, Zeke’s plan is quite different:the sterilization of its inhabitants. Beyond this, their relationship as the Attack/Founding and Beast Titans reflects a total inseparability as Eldians, in spite of geographic distance.
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Zeke’s Self-Despising Eugenics Has A Very Particular Origin
Born to Eldian Restorationists wanting to overthrow Marley, Zeke provides a particular perspective of Eldia from the lens of Marley. He was initially enrolled in the Warrior program by his parents in order to be a spy for Marley’s military intentions. His parents' devotion to the cause led to his feeling like a disappointment — as well as to a lot of time spent with his grandfather, whowould constantly tell him about the Eldians' crimes.
Growing up awash in anti-Eldian propaganda andseeing his pro-Eldian parents as a source of pain and personal frustration, Zeke eventually arrives at the conclusion thatthe kindest fate for Eldians is not to be born. Zeke is only one piece in a dense puzzle showing the varied perspectives of the Eldian underclass. He might be contrasted against Reiner, the Armored Titan and an Honorary Marleyan, whose motivations are mostly to ensure his family’s security and fairer treatment.
Reiner occupiesa less directly ideological position than Zeke, and simply tries to make calculated movements within his circumstances. Both interact extensively with Eren, and in a way, Eren seems to empathize more sincerely with Reiner. It’s likely that Eren empathizes with the fact that Reiner had, on some level, resisted the Marleyan propaganda. However, this only adds another layer of complexity.
Zeke & Eren Are More Than Brothers
The Symbolism Of Their Relationship Is Critical
Eren forms the other flank of this analysis. Eren was raised by Grishawithin the borders of Paradis. One day, after the Titans breach the walls of the city, Eren’s mother Carla is eaten by Dina, later revealed to be Grisha’s former wife. After being injected by Grisha with the powers of the Attack and Founding Titan, Eren would become a Titan himself, join the Survey Corps, and work his way up the ranks to fend against future Titan attacks.
It’s later shown that both of these events are the result of Eren’s own influence.
Zeke appears at the end of Season 1, but it isn’t yet clear that he’s Eren’s brother. As Zeke acts out his goals as an Honorary Marleyan alongside Reiner, Bertholt, and Annie, Eren attempts with the Survey Corps to fend these aggressions off and assist with rooting out spies wherever they are. Using a key Grisha had given him before his death at the hands of Eren’s Titan form, Eren unlocks a room whereGrisha had left behind descriptions of life outside Paradis Island,and the history of the Eldia and Marley conflict.
Eventually, Zeke and Eren meet and begin to conspire. During this, Eren had the ulterior motive of using his powers to launch the Rumbling, an event where Titans march in ensemble and topple wherever they are sent. His goals are to destroy Marley andeffect a respect for Eldians throughout the world, hopefully protecting Paradis Island and those he grew up with.
Zeke operates from the perspective of somebody who had grown up on Marley’s side within the context of the Eldian Restoration movement. He hasemotional investments in and against Marley and Eldiabased off his interactions within that restorationist sphere. Conversely, the average citizen of Paradis Island had no idea whatsoever about the world outside their walls. Eren operates from a very meager amount of information left behind to him from his father.
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Marley And The Politics Of Truth InAttack On Titan
Attack On TitanHas No Victors And A Million Definitions Of Truth
During the visit to Marley by members of the Survey Corps and especially during Eren’s infiltration, it’s possible to see some of the workings of the politics of truth within Marley. The Survey Corps returns later to pull Eren out after he launches an offensive during a presentation by Willy Tybur. Tybur had invited ambassadors and leaders from around the world to the presentation, where he presented a very specific story about Eldia and Paradis Island, andannounced Marley’s intentions of war against them. In response, Eren crashes the presentation in the first battle of Marley.
It’s important to recognize that the first information the people of Paradis are given about Marley also comes from a very biased perspective: Grisha’s account. Not only that of an Eldian Restorationist, but one who was exiled and nearly turned into a Titan. Eren’s powers as the Founding and Attack Titan give him access to the history of the Titans through the memories of the Subjects of Ymir (such as Grisha himself), but it’s still filtered through his perspective, presentation, and - more importantly -the way other people receive it.
In light of this, it would be tempting to say that the Honorary Marleyans, due to their diversity of backgrounds and intentions, have the “clearest” idea of what’s going on. However, Marley mobilizes these Warriors in ways that highlight their disposability. Whether on Paradis or on Marley’s side of the battlefield, the horrible myth of the Titan is transformed into a political and military weapon. Dehumanization, propaganda, and disposability certainly play a role in those Honorary Marleyans' perceptions of events.Falco and Gabi’s initial interactions with Sasha’s family put this on full display.
What makes Zeke so compelling of a character is that he demonstratesprecisely how emotional investments determine the political operation of truth, as well as truth itself. This is reinforced by Willy Tybur, who, by stoking the fears of those in the audience, creates an emotional investment in the truth that he projects — even though the viewer sees it as obviously incorrect. It’s further reinforced by the differing motivations of the Honorary Marleyans and how they choose to react to the situation, and the splintering of factions within Paradis Island itself.
In analyzing Zeke,Attack On Titan’s cogent critique of truth emerges. When a character like Eren has “the ultimate truth” because of a supernatural ability, its reception still depends on how people use it. In real life, such revelations of absolute truth don’t exist. Wherever there is dehumanization at play, there’s also the opportunity to analyze the way “truth” constructs it. Through Zeke,Attack On Titanshows, subtly, that it’s incorrect to say the Eldians were brainwashed — they were caught in the crossfire and friction of contested regimes of truth, which is far more horrifying because it’s far more realistic.
Attack On Titan
Cast
Based on the manga, Attack on Titan is a dark-action fantasy series set in a world where humanity has been corralled into walled cities from fear of monstrous human-eating Titans that exist outside of them. When protagonist Eren Yeager’s mother is killed in front of his eyes at a young age, his thirst for vengeance leads him to join an elite group of soldiers created to fight back against the Titan menace.
