In the beginning of Perek יא, the Yirei Elokim responds to the Amal. He tells him that there is a point to work, create, and prepare, even if you don't know when disaster may strike. We can't be perfect but we must act in this world, even thought we can't predict what will happen. The Yirei Elokim also tells the Amal that his previous notion that all of the nature cycles were pointless was incorrect because these cycles spread new seeds and cause new things to grow. He also adds that only G-d knows everything and only He is perfect. However, you can still do things in the world and try to make progress.
In the middle of Perek יא, the Yirei Elokim addresses the Chacham once more. He tells him that wisdom is like the sun- sometimes it will provide enlightenment and understanding, but there will also be times where it will be dark and we won't have a full understanding of what's going on. The Yirei Elokim decides that knowledge can be used for good if you recognize that you don't know everything and incomprehensibility is הבל.
Continuing on in Perek יא, we see that the Yirei Elokim finds a way to respond to all three characters in one pasuk. He tells them all that you have to participate in the world and know that you will ultimately be held accountable for your actions. The only thing man knows is that he doesn't know everything.
To the Amal, the Yirei Elokim says that people are judged positively for what you do in this world, and you can fulfill your potential. He tells the Chacham that man is limited and you must accept these limitations and then use your wisdom and knowledge to make the world a better place. He responds to the Neheneh, telling him to recognize that there is a G-d and that he'll be held accountable for his actions. Through the end of Perek יא until the beginning of Perek יב he tells the Neheneh, through a description of the decay of the human body, that he should have recognized when he was young and partying that he would die someday and his body will fail him. It will return to dust and his soul will return to G-d.
So what is the Yirei Elokim's ultimate conclusion? Unlike the rest of the characters, he actually finds meaning in life. He seems to be saying that if you recognize that there is a G-d who controls the world and will hold you accountable for your actions and you realize that you are limited in power and knowledge, then, and only then, can you find meaning. Then everything is transformed and you can use the physical (Neheneh), the creative (Amal), and the intellectual (Chacham) to find meaning in this world.
Personally, I really liked the Yirei Elokim's approach. I mean, how can you not? It's a refreshing new view, one that doesn't include too much הבל and one that actually finds meaning in life! When looking back on all of the characters and the summary of the Yirei Elokim, I found a connection to the book Divergent. If you haven't read this book yet, you're missing out and you should go buy it right away.
This book takes place (kind of like the Hunger Games) is a post-war world sometime far in the future. After a terrible world war, the rest of the human race alive came together to form a "perfect" society. The civilization is divided into 5 factions, Candor, Erudite, Dauntless, Abnegation, and Amity, each one representing the one trait that those particular people believe caused the world to fall into disarray. Each faction believed that their trait specifically was perfect.
I can see the characters of Kohelet being placed in each of these different factions: the Chacham in Erudite, where they strived for knowledge, the Neheneh in Dauntless, where they weren't afraid of anything and simply did whatever they wanted, the Amal in Candor, where they strived for ultimate honesty and perfection, and the Yirei Elokim as a Divergent, someone who broke the system. The only problem with these factions is that they were extremely strict- you had to be honest about everything, happy about everything, etc. In the end, the civilization begins to fall apart, which isn't surprising, seeing as it was built on impossibility.
Although this book isn't spot on with Kohelet, I think there are enough similarities to show us what could happen if everyone followed the views of the Amal, the Neheneh, or the Chacham. I think each of the characters in Kohelet had certain fatal flaws that completely ruined their whole ideas. The Yirei Elokim was the only one who broke the system and found a way to find a purpose.
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