ANALYSIS OF NOLI ME TANGERE

The Noli Me Tangere can be regarded s a historical novel, as it has mostly fictional
characters and historical persons. Rizal's description of the lavish fiesta showed the
comic antics at church and the ridiculous expense for one day of festivities.
Noli me tangere literally translated, the Latin words "noli me tangere"means,
"touch me not". Taken from John 20:17 when Mary Magdalene holds on to Jesus and
he tells her not to touch him. John 20:17 Jesus said to her: "Stop cling to me. For I have
not yet ascended to the Father. But be on your way to my brothers and say to them, 'I
am ascending to my Father and to your Father and to my God and your God.'
Theme as an element of fiction is the idea that runs through the whole novel,
repeated again and again in various forms and way. The theme of Noli me Tangere
comes from the Gospel of John. The Noli me Tangere is a similar theme of longing and
unfulfillment. There is no more tragic love and of course no greater love than the two
beings unable to reach each other, since such love eternally remains unblemished. It
persistently unmasks contemporary Spaniards in the Philippines of every kind. Rizal
exposes corruption and brutality of the civil guards which drive good men to crime and
banditry. He focuses on an administration crawling with self-seekers, out to make their
fortune at the expense of the Filipinos, so that the few officials who are honest and
sincere are unable to overcome the treacherous workings of the system, and their
efforts to help the country often end up in frustration or in self-ruin. Noli me TAngere
exposé of corrupt friars who have made the Catholic religion an instrument for enriching
and perpetuating themselves in power by seeking to mire ignorant Filipinos in fanaticism
and superstition. Instead of teaching Filipinos true Catholicism, they control the
government by opposing all progress and persecuting members of the ilustrado unless
they make themselves their servile flatterers.
Rizal does not, however, spare his fellow countrymen. The superstitious and
hypocritical fanaticism of many who consider themselves religious people; the
ignorance, corruption, and brutality of the Filipino civil guards; the passion for gambling
unchecked by the thought of duty and responsibility; the servility of the wealthy Filipino
towards rirs and government officials; the ridiculous efforts of Filipinos to dissociate
themselves from their fellowmen or to lord it over them--all these are ridiculed and
disclosed.
Rizal nevertheless balances the national portrait by highlighting the virtues
and good qualities of his unspoiled countryman: the modesty and devotion of the
Filipina, the unstinting hospitality of the Filipino family, the devotion of parents to their
children and children to their parents, the deep sense of gratitude, and the solid
common sense of untutored peasant. Iy calls on the Filipino to recover his self-
confidence, to appreciate his own worth, to return to the heritage of his ancestors, and
to assert himself as the equal of the Spaniard. It insists on the need of education, of
dedication to the country, and of absorbing aspects of foreign cultures that would
enhance the native traditions.
Rizal creates other memorable characters whose lives manifest the
poisonous effects of religious and colonial oppression. Capitan Tiago; the social climber
Doña Victorina Espadaña and her toothless Spanish husband., the Guardia Civil head
and his harridan wife; the sorority of devout women; the disaffected peasants forced to
become outlaws; in sum, a microcosm of Philippine society. In the afflictions that plague
them, Rizl paints a harrowing picture of his beloved but suffering country in a work that
speaks eloquently not just to Filipinos but to all who have endured
or witnessed oppression.

BY: DONDIE V. SUMAYOG