There are few characters in fiction that can portray layers of humor, pettiness, anger, happiness, caring, and actual growth. Surprisingly, one of the few characters who displays this perfectly is Shrek from the hit movie Shrek directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson in 2001. The general populace opinion is that Shrek is not very mature or just for kids; however, they are wrong. Shrek says this himself in the first movie “For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think.” (Adamson, Jenson). 

The first time we see this directly brought up in the movie is in the onion scene. Which Shrek tells Donkey “Okay, um, ogres are like onions.” (Adamson, Jenson). Donkey, who is very talkative, immediately asks a question about why Shrek would use onions to relate to ogres. After a little frustration on Shrek’s part he responds with “Layers! Onions have layers. Ogres have layers! Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.” (Adamson, Jenson). These lines are the perfect opener to what the rest of this essay will be about. As the title and Shrek suggest people and ogres and everything else have layers.

Many very important physical things are made entirely of layers. Such as the Earth, it is made up of the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. However, physical layers are not the focus of this essay. One amazing example of a non-physical important thing that has layers is the five stages of grief. In the name it says stages but if you look at it another you can plainly see it is also layers. As you start going into grief on the top you find denial the first stage or layer to the grief cycle. The second layer down is anger which happens after you go through denial. Going deeper through the layers of grief will lead you to bargaining. After you pass bargaining you find depression which is the fourth layer of grief. Finally, going as deep as you can through the layers of grief you find acceptance which is the layer after going through everything else everyone gets to in their own time. This example is amazing because unfortunately many people are familiar with it, and it shows how deep and into human emotions a simple concept can get you. Not all of them are so morbid though. For example, another well-known concept is human relationships. These have so many layers that I can’t go through them all. However, I will portray an example of a good and developing human relationship between a male and a female. The first layer is, strangers; the second is, acquaintances; the third is, friends; the fourth is, boyfriend-girlfriend relationship; the fifth is, marriage. Now so many of these can flip at any point and lead you to a new layer. This was just one example of how human relationships can come in layers. 

Shrek also displays these concepts perfectly throughout the movies. At first, all he shows is that he is grumpy, selfish, and mean to others. However, as the movies progress he shows that he can be kind, caring, and selfless. Some examples of this are Shrek starts to warm up to people around him because of Donkey, he meets someone he is interested in and realizes there is more to life than just his swamp, he starts to talk and interact with the people he became friends with, he starts to genuinely care about them going to great lengths for them and then even marrying one of his friends, he sustains a successful marriage and even has kids, and near the end he sacrifices all he has for his kids. Shrek throughout all of the movies is having constant character development that he is working through layer by layer. Which is why he is one of the best examples in fiction of characters having metaphorical layers.

Other pieces of literature also support this claim. For example, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, which is a classic piece of literature, states “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” (Sun Tzu 14). As you can see, even to a simple statement like the first part of that quote there are many layers to it. Also that the claim holds up not only in fiction but in real world practice as well.

In conclusion, everything around us has layers that can be good or bad. So the next time you see anything complex that you are struggling to understand, remember to work through it layer by layer and you will get to the answer in your own time.

Shrek. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson,

DreamWorks Animation, 2001

Sun Tzu. The Art of War . 6 BC.