Brito, Marie Chrys

Diguangco, Wilma Patricia A.

Lozano, Jenirose P.

Nationalism in Rizal’s novels

The Philippines was ruled by Spain for 333 years. The Spaniards overruled the
country in terms of power and religion. The citizens of our country already felt helpless,
until a concerned citizen saw the crucial happenings in our country and decided to help
our poor nation. Dr. Jose P. Rizal – a true hero who is not only considered as a savior
who fought for our country but also as an eye opener to the Filipinos who were not
aware on what was happening in our nation.

Nationalism during the existence of Rizal became visible. As defined from

Stanford’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Nationalism is the attitude that the members of
a nation has when they care about their national identity and the actions that the
members of a nation take when seeking to achieve self-determination.” Andres
Bonifacio led a revolution with the other Katipuneros; a Propaganda Movement was
developed by the famous writers of our country – these are examples of how Filipinos
contribute in nationalism. As a young citizen, Rizal provoked to save our country from
Spain through the help of his older brother, Protacio.

The Filipinos during that time were on the rude hands of the friars. There were
number of executions that happened all over the country. An event known as the death
sentence of the three Filipino priests or the GOMBURZA led to Filipino nationalism. Dr.
Jose Rizal became the leader of this against Spain. He was sent by his brother to Spain
to study and to help the Filipinos in finding a solution to the problem of the country.
While he was in Europe, he proposed on writing a novel about the Philippines with the
other Filipino writers who reside there. At first, his proposal has been approved but then
it failed due to the inconsistency of the other members because most of them decided to
write about women. Because of this, Rizal decided to write alone. His inspiration in
writing a novel was the novel of Harriet Beecher Stowe with the title, Uncle Tom’s
Cabin. The novel was about the discrimination done by the White Americans to the
Black Americans (or the Negro slaves). By that, Rizal compared the story to the
situation of the Philippines. He found out that our country was contaminated by an
illness which is too difficult to heal. Then, he began to write the novel, Noli Me Tangere.

Rizal started writing the novel in Madrid towards the end of 1884 and was able to
finish half of it. After completing his studies in the Central University of Madrid in 1885,
he went to Paris to continue writing the novel. He was to able to finish it in Germany,
and wrote the last few chapters in Wilhemsfeld in April- June 1886. He made the final
revisions in Berlin in February 1886. Due to the financial problems, Rizal was broken-
hearted when he realized that he will not be able to publish his first novel. But through
the help of his good friend from Bulacan, Dr. Maximo Viola, Rizal was able to publish
Noli Me Tangere in Berlin on March 1887. Viola loaned him the needed funds to be able
to print the novel. Noli Me Tangere was finally finished and ready for printing on
February 21, 1887. The total printing cost was 300 pesos for 2,000 copies of the novel.

Noli Me Tangere is a Latin phrase which means “Touch Me Not”. The words
were taken from the bible (from the gospel of St. John, chapter 20, verses 13 to 17). It is
also known for its alternative English title, “The Social Cancer”. Rizal dedicated the
novel to the Philippines – his Fatherland. The dedication of the book goes as follows:

"Recorded in the history of human sufferings is a cancer of so malignant a

character that the least touch irritates it and awakens in it the sharpest
pains. Thus, how many times, when in the midst of modern civilizations I
have wished to call thee before me, now to accompany me in memories,
now to compare thee with other countries, hath thy dear image presented
itself showing a social cancer like to that other!"

According to Rizal, “The novel is the first impartial and bold account of the life of the
Tagalogs. The Filipinos will in it the history of the last ten years…” As mentioned earlier,
his main purpose in writing the novel was to expose the abuses of the Spanish friars
and government officials. The friars in the novel were greedy and lustful just like how
the Spanish friars were in the Philippines. The great cruelty of the civil guards, the
corruption of government officials, and the injustices to the Indios were also shown in it.
It is true that the friars have made the Catholic religion an instrument for empowering
themselves and by persuading the ignorant Filipinos in wrongdoings instead of teaching
them true Catholicism. The rich and the poor were also represented, and issues on
education were also raised. In the book, the poor were driven to crime because of the
injustices of the civil guards. The friars refuse to properly educate the people so that
they may still take advantage of their ignorance and dependence result to religious
hypocrisy and false beliefs. However, Rizal also pointed out the positive qualities of the
Filipinos. We truly are family-oriented, self-sacrificing, faithful, strong, and always
grateful to other people. He described the state of our society, our life, our beliefs, our
hopes, our desires, our laments, and our grievances. The novel not only exposed the
sufferings of the Philippine people but also defined our national identity. Rizal has given
us an encouragement to fight back our bad qualities and be reformed as one.

These novels affected young minds and young hearts of the Filipinos. In the end,
Filipino nationalism is all about the love, the love for our own country.