Week Five: Cosmopolis

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Cosmopolis is a window into the life of a young asset manager, Eric Packer. I have little in common with Eric, being a younger female from a totally different background. While I found the story of the life of Eric Parker sad and unfulfilling, it does prompt an interesting question. What is the meaning of anything?

Eric was successful, young, good looking. He seemed to have everything anyone could every long for. It is the classic story. Character has everything they ever wanted, but still needs more. Why is this such a popular story plot? Because it’s a story we see in our own lives. We finally achieve our dreams and then what? Was that it? This can’t be it! You hear about Olympians working their whole lives for that gold medal, finally get it and then think now what. Their whole lives have centered around one thing and now that thing is no longer something to strive for. This is a phenomenon that happens to some extent in everyone life, but why? It’s because we put our hopes and dreams on things that are unpredictable, flawed, and unworthy. What are we chasing after? The perfect job, perfect spouse, money, sex? These are all things that are either nonexistent or are very weak walls to lean on. Any of these things can be taken away, as seen in Cosmopolis. He loses everything in search of satisfying his desire for more. “Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”  Ecclesiastes 4:6.

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