Attack on Titan anime has finally come to an end. But way before the anime, Hajime Isayama’s manga had already revealed to everyone what was going to happen:
Eren’s death at the hands of Mikasa when he began the Rumbling.
But even now, readers and viewers wonder about Eren’s motivations behind bringing down the cataclysm known as the Rumbling. So why did he do it?
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Attack on Titan.
Eren began the Rumbling because he was tired of his people- the Eldians, being hated for the crimes of oppression his ancestors had committed against the people of Marley. He wanted to eradicate the rest of the world, apart from Paradis, so that there would be no one to hate them. So peace would prevail.
Why Did Eren Start the Rumbling?
When we were introduced to Eren, he was a freedom fighter. But by the time Attack on Titan ended, he became the villain who had to be stopped. After all, he was the one who began the Rumbling.
The Rumbling was designed hundreds of years ago by the 145th King Karl Fritz. It was meant to act as a failsafe to stop the rest of the world from attacking Paradis.
So he sent a message to Marley- he would unleash hell on them with a thousand titans that would crush everything under their feet if they didn’t leave the Eldians alone.
However, he never intended actually to begin the Rumbling. He, in fact, believed that if the people of Marley attacked the Eldians, they would deserve it for their crimes and oppression committed against them.
Fritz thought sealing the Eldians behind walls full of Titans was the solution. He also believed that erasing everyone’s memories would wipe out their knowledge of the world beyond the borders and their brutal history of oppression.
Thus ensuring peace. Furthermore, since only Fritz’s descendants could control the Founding Titan, the message and history to maintain peace was passed on through generations.
The threat worked, and the people of Paradis were left alone till Eren began the Rumbling.
Eren believed that it was unfair that his people, the Eldians, were continuously punished for the crimes of their ancestors. He wanted them to be free of that hate and stigma. For him, the only way to do that was to wipe out the people who defined the Eldians only by their violent history.
For Eren, freedom for Paradis and Eldians was the prime goal.
But how did Eren control the Founding Titan? It was because he was constantly in contact with Zeke, his half-brother, whose mother was Diana Fritz, a descendant of the original Fritz family.
When Eren touched his half-brother Zeke and was able to control the Founding Titan, many wanted him to begin the Rumbling. After all, it would let the Eldians catch up with the world outside.
Zeke, on the other hand, believed that the Rumbling should be used to kill their people. He thought it was what they deserved for their past crimes.
Eren never believed in Zeke’s idea, nor did he think a partial Rumbling would solve any problems. As per him, the only way to bring peace was to end the world’s population beyond Paradis.
To do this, unleashing the Rumbling in its totality was a necessity. In the ideal aftermath for Eren, only the Eldians would remain in the world, and there would be peace since there would be no one to fight with.
Eren’s friends and enemies came together to stop the Rumbling and prevent him from causing total devastation to the world. In the end, Mikasa killed him.
However, it’s uncertain if this nationalistic goal was his endgame. After all, he also realized that once he began the Rumbling and became the Founding Titan, it would force Eldia and Marley to unite to end him.
Thus, they could set aside their hatred and enmity for a common goal. After all, the saying goes that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
So, he stopped the Eldians from getting stigmatized by making himself the villain and giving his people a way to redeem themselves in the eyes of the people of Marley.
What did you think of Eren’s motivations in beginning the Rumbling? Do you think he achieved his goal of ending the hate towards the Eldians?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
