Understanding Loneliness: How Shrek Can Help Us

In this article we will discuss that understanding loneliness is sometimes difficult. It is natural for humans to be part of a community. We used to do it to survive. We had to be able to defend ourselves against animals and rival tribes and be able to produce enough food.

Cities and villages offered their inhabitants the protection they needed. They also provided security and a sense of belonging. Even today, people strive for the kind of security that living in a community can provide. In this context , it can be difficult to understand loneliness. Is being alone a bad thing?

What happens when a person thinks he is strong enough to protect himself from imminent danger? Isn’t it necessary for that person to live in a community? Doesn’t this person need friends? In this article, we will help you understand loneliness by analyzing the movie Shrek.

Shrek: The bogeyman who lives in a swamp

Shrek is an animated DreamWorks film released in 2001. The main character is Shrek, an ogre who lives in a remote swamp in the middle of the forest. He is completely satisfied with his life and loves his solitary existence.

One day , however , Shrek ‘s precious solitude is unexpectedly disrupted by an invasion of annoying fairytale characters. The evil Lord Farquaad stole all their land and banished them from the kingdom.

Desperate to save his swamp, Shrek makes a deal with Lord Farquaad. When he is able to save Princess Fiona, the fairytale characters get their home back. After that, Shrek therefore embarks on a very long journey. He is accompanied in his search for the princess by a donkey named Donkey.

Understanding the benefits of loneliness

People often think that being alone makes you a failure. However, this is not true at all. Being alone is a transient state that some people can even choose voluntarily.

Sometimes voluntary isolation stems from the desire to be in charge of our own lives. You may be striving to be authentic and not wear masks or disguises anymore. Voluntarily chosen solitude can lead to personal growth. Moreover, it can also help us to complete certain projects and achieve goals.

Here are some benefits that being alone can provide:

• It allows you to focus your energy on personal projects. Instead of exhausting yourself and always pleasing others, you can finally focus on what you want to do.

• You don’t have to explain yourself to anyone or stick to a schedule. Being alone means that you can clean whenever you want, eat when you feel like it, etc. You can decorate your house however you want and also use the space however you want.
• Being alone gives you time to think about and reflect on your own behavior. In a world full of distractions and unfinished tasks, it’s hard to find a moment to think about what you want to do with your life. Loneliness makes introspection possible.
• Being alone encourages independence. You feel responsible for yourself. That means you are not dependent on anyone else, which can improve your happiness and well-being.

Lonely people also find love

In the film, Shrek goes in search of the beautiful Princess Fiona, who is trapped in a tower guarded by a dragon. She is therefore very happy when Shrek and Donkey free her from her terrible captor. However, this joy disappears when she finds out that she was not saved by a prince but by a bogeyman.

On their journey back to Lord Farquaad’s castle , Shrek and Fiona discover they have a lot in common. They even fall in love with each other. However, Fiona has a secret that she hasn’t revealed to Shrek yet. There is a curse on her. Every night she turns into a bogeyman just like Shrek. In the morning she becomes human again.

Donkey is the first to discover her secret. Fiona explains that she was cursed when she was a little girl, and that only a kiss from her true love can free her from this spell. Shrek overhears part of the conversation between Fiona and Donkey, but he misunderstands and feels betrayed.

Loneliness and self confidence

Despite spending a lot of time alone, Shrek is not very self-conscious. Loneliness can be good for introspection, but it’s clear that Shrek didn’t take this opportunity. Thus, Shrek lacks the necessary skills to define or express his needs and feelings.

Therefore, when Lord Farquaad brings Fiona to his castle, Shrek returns to his swamp, worried and lonely. He regrets not telling the princess how he felt, even though he is sure she was disgusted by him.

As a result, the swamp where he was once so happy becomes a self-imposed prison. The loneliness that once made Shrek happy now makes him miserable.

The end of loneliness

Shrek soon realizes that although he is back home and able to resume his solitary existence, he is utterly miserable. He misses the company of Fiona and Donkey. However, the bogeyman has very little self-confidence. He doesn’t believe he deserves good things.

Shrek, like many people with low self-esteem, felt compelled to push other people away. His poor self-image left him feeling incapable of bonding with others.

This seems to be the real reason behind Shrek’s solitary existence. It seems that he had not voluntarily chosen to be alone at all. Rather, he chose to isolate himself for fear of suffering or being hurt.

Lonely people need to teach themselves that they deserve the company of others. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be alone, as long as the choice is genuine and not based on fear. When he finally felt like he deserved other people’s affection and love, Shrek decided to spend time with Donkey and Fiona.

When loneliness is imposed, people usually relate it to negative emotions such as sadness. However, as we mentioned earlier, being alone is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s only bad if you don’t really want to be alone. This knowledge can help you understand loneliness.

So…

To understand loneliness, don’t be afraid to be alone. Take advantage of those moments to get to know yourself better. Work on yourself to become a better person and figure out what you want in life.

However, if you feel the need to spend more time with others, do whatever it takes to make it happen. After all, we all deserve to be accepted by others.