In History and Biography: What made Jose Rizal a Great Hero of the

Philippines? (Reminiscing the Childhood Days of Rizal and the Influences that
Foster his Whole Personality)
By: Frances O. Ponce
I was born in Kalamba on the 19th of June 1861 between eleven
and twelve oclock at night, a few days before the full of the
moon.

The above line was written by Jose Rizal himself reminiscing his
childhood memories in his beloved hometown, Calamba. Jose Rizal,
like many Filipino boys, had many beautiful memories during his
childhood days. His was a happy home, filled with parental
affection, imbued with family joys, and sanctified by prayers.
In the midst of such peaceful, refined, God-loving family, he
spent the early years of his childhood. The beauties of Calamba
impressed him as a growing child and deeply influenced his mind
and character. The happiest period of his life was truly his
childhood days in his natal town.

A portrait of Dr. Jose P. Rizal
photo credits to moralheroes.org


Looking at the life story of our greatest hero, we can see that
Jose Rizal was indeed the chosen one and the most unique among
all. He grew up in a place and in an environment full of unique
influences. Those influences made him a great hero of the
Philippines. Among these factors that influenced him are the
Hereditary Influence, Environmental Influence, and the Aid of
Divine Providence. The ancestry of Rizal was a mixture of
different races and cultures. Among these are Malayan, Chinese,
Spanish, Negrito, Indonesian, and even Japanese.


From his Malayan ancestors, Rizal inherited his passionate love
for freedom and his serenity of lifes outlook. We can see this
from the very nature of Jose Rizal. Although, he was a frail,
sickly, and undersized child, Rizals mind was instilled with
deep convictions. He was an introvert by nature and he loves
meditating and sightseeing with the great beauties of our Mother
Earth. His love for the nature can be recounted during his
boyhood memoirs: Rizal, at the age of three, watched from his
garden cottage, the caliauan, the maya, the maria capra, the
martin, the pipit, and other birds and listened with wonder and
joy to their twilight songs; the happy moonlit nights at the
azotea after the nightly Rosary; the many stories about the
fairies, tales of buried treasure and trees blooming with
diamonds, and other fabulous stories that the aya related to the
Rizal children (including Jose); the nocturnal walk in the
moonlight by the river, where the trees cast grotesque shadows
on the bank.

On the other hand, another hereditary influence was from his
Chinese ancestors where he derived his serious nature,
frugality, patience and love for children. From his Spanish
ancestors, he got his elegance of bearing, sensitivity to
insult, and gallantry to ladies. In fact, Rizals love life was
rich. He met different girls coming from different races and
culture. Among them are Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela,
Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortiga, O Sei San, Gertrude Beckett,
Nellie Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby, and Josephine Bracken. The last
girl that he wanted to marry was the 18-year old petite girl,
Josephine Bracken. Josephine went to the Philippines in order to
seek treatment for the eyes of George Taufer-- a blind man from
Hong Kong who adopted Josephine as his daughter. Rizal asked
Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a
decision due to her responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since
Taufers blindness was untreatable, he left for Hon Kong on
March 1895. Josephine stayed with Rizals family in Manila. Upon
her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father
Antonio Obach for their marriage. However, the priest wanted a
retraction as a precondition before marrying them. Rizal upon
the advice of his family and friends and with Josephines
consent took her as his wife even without the Church blessings.
Josephine later gave birth prematurely to a stillborn baby, a
result of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened
her.


Going back to the influences of our hero, the environment also
made a great contribution to the development of Rizals
character. The scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful
garden of the Rizal family stimulated the inborn artistic and
literary talents of Jose Rizal. The religious atmosphere at his
home fortified his religious nature. His brother, Paciano,
instilled in his mind the love for freedom and justice. From his
sisters, he learned to be courteous and kind to women. The fairy
tales told by his aya during his early childhood awakened his
interest in folklore and legends.


There were three uncles, brothers of his mother, who played a
great part in the early education and character development of
Rizal. Among them are Uncle Gregorio, Uncle Jose and Uncle
Manuel. Uncle Gregorio was a lover of books. He instilled into
the mind of his precocious nephew (Rizal) a great love for
books. He taught him to work hard, to think for himself, and to
observe life keenly. On the other hand, Uncle Jose, who had been
educated at Calcutta, India, was the youngest brother of Dona
Teodora. He encouraged his nephew to master painting, sketching
and sculpting. Furthermore, Uncle Manuel was a big, strong and
husky man. He looked after the physical training of his sickly
and weak nephew. He encouraged young Rizal to learn swimming,
fencing, wrestling and other sports, so that in later years
Rizals frail body acquired agility, endurance and strength.


Furthermore, the Aid of the Divine Providence had the most
significant impact on the totality of Jose Rizals character.
Dr. Gregorio F. Zaide and Sonia M. Zaide in their book The
Life, Works, and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist, and
National Hero, stated the following excerpt:

Greater than heredity and environment in the fate of man is the
aid of Divine Providence. A person may have everything in life--
brains, wealth, and power-- but, without the aid of Divine
Providence, he cannot attain greatness in the annals of the
nation.


No matter how powerful a person is, God still owns everything
for He is the creator of the universe. No matter how genius,
rich or physically attractive the person is, God can still
destroy them for He is the owner of every creation in this
universe. Eventually, Rizal was providentially destined to be
the pride and glory of the Filipino people. God had endowed him
with the versatile talents of a rare genius, the unsurpassed
spirit of nationalism, and the valiant heart to sacrifice
himself for a noble cause. He gave us this particular genius and
hero during the darkest period of our history in order that our
suffering people might be emancipated from Spanish tyranny.
Many persons were born during the times of Rizal but he is the
only one who reigns above everyone. His existence was indeed a
unique one. This uniqueness contributed to his great work in
fostering the freedom of the Filipino people. He used his
outstanding intelligence and patriotic character in order to
free his fellowmen from the dire atrocities of the Spanish
government. Accordingly, his burning desire to free his country
inspired him to sacrifice his life. He saw the ruthless violence
of the Spanish officials towards the Filipinos and this scene
invigorated his spirit to fight tyranny.


Nowadays, we study the life and works of Rizal during his times.
Perhaps, only few Filipinos these days (or even none except God)
could surpass the greatness of our national hero. However, his
life could provide inspiration to the young generation. His
courage and determination to free his nation and to love his own
country could instil patriotic ideals to our young people these
days. His admirable personality and his outstanding intelligence
and talents will even help the young generation to find their
own exemplary talents and use these talents and skills for the
betterment of our nation.

Jose Rizal had many beautiful memories of his childhood in his native town Calamba. Its
scenic beauties and its industrious, hospitable, and friendly folks profoundly affected his mind
and character. The happiest period of Rizals life was spent in this lakeshore town.
The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was in the family garden when he was 3yrs. old.
Because he was a frail, sickly and undersized, he was given the tenderest care by his parents. His
father built a Nipa cottage for him to play in the daytime.
Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, his mother gathered all
the children at the house to pray the Angelus.
He also remembered the aya (nurse maid) related to the Rizal children amy stories about the
fairies; tales of buried treasure and trees blooming with diamonds, and other fabulous stories.
Of his sisters, Jose loved most the little Concha ( Concepcion), who was a year younger than
him. He played with her and from her he learned the sweetness of sisterly love.
Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1865 when she was only 3yrs. old. Jose cried
bitterly at losing her. The death of Concha brought him his first sorrow.
Rizal grew up a good catholic. At age of 3, he would take part in the family prayers. When he
was 5yrs. old, he was able to read the Spanish family bible.
He loved to go to church, to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join religious processions.
One of the men he esteemed and respect in Calamba was the scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez,
the town priest. He used to visit him and listen to his stimulating opinions on current events and
sound philosophy of life.
On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order
to fulfill his mothers vow, which was made when Jose was born. After praying at the shrine of
the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila to visit Saturnina, who was a boarding
student in La Concordia College in Santa Ana.
Of the stories told by Dona Teodora, Jose remembered the Story of the Moth. The tragic fate
of the young moth, which died a martyr to its illusions, left a deep impress on Rizals mind.
He justified such noble death, asserting that to sacrifice ones life for it, meaning for an ideal,
is worthwile. And, like that young moth, he was fated to die as a martyr for a noble ideal.
At age of 5, he began to make sketches with his pencil and to mould in his clay and wax
objects. Jose had the soul of a genuine artist. He also loved to ride the pony that which his father
gave him and take long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his black dog named Usman.
Aside from his sketching and sculpturing talent, Rizal possessed a God-given gift for
literature. At age of 8, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native language entitled Sa Aking Mga
Kababata (To My Fellow Children).
After writing his first poem, Rizal who was then 8yrs. old, wrote his first dramatic work which
was a Tagalog comedy.
Rizal was also interested in magic. He learned various tricks, such as making a coin disappear
and making a handkerchief van