I like how this memory perfectly sums up EMA’s whole dynamic.
-Eren is the one who comes up with the idea of the race. He leads the others and his idea of the race is one linked to competition. He wants to win and wants to move forward toward victory.
-Mikasa could easily win, but she stays behind Eren becaue what she wants is to be by his side.
-Armin is behind them, but he is still enjoying himself and the afternoon they are spending together:
“Maybe the reason I was born was so that the three of us could be racing there.”
The race is “life” and each of EMA’s behaviour mirrors their philosophies and their goals.
It is particularly interesting how Armin and Eren’s are inverses.
On one hand Eren only thinks of winning. The race did not have to be a competition, but Eren turned it into one.
On the other hand Armin loses, but he still loves that moment so much that he thinks a simple day spent losing a competition with his friends is worth being alive.
This is interesting when one thinks of this:
Eren realizes he is not free when he sees Armin’s eyes. From this conversation, it would seem that freedom is having something that drives you. A dream gives people purpose and in this way they become active and free.
Later on Eren also says so:
Eren says Armin is better than him because he has more than hate, while Eren had is only focused on revenge. So, it would seem that it is not just about having an objective. It is also about which kind of objective one has.
However, after this chapter, I think the answer is closer and is slightly different. Eren misunderstands what freedom is. He sees it as an objective, a goal, something that drives him. He sees it as something to reach and that will make him full and complete. Still, he is mistaken. Freedom is not that, but it is simply a way of living.
It is not the final line, but it is the ability to see a leaf while running with friends and to feel wonder.
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