We’ve known Dr.

Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda as our

national hero. He is indeed one of the most important people in our history. His life and
works made a big contribution to our country. At his young age, he accomplished a lot
of things. His brilliance since early childhood turned into versatility in later years. Being
curious and intrigued, he develops a rare ability to master various subjects and
occupations. I must say that his intelligence and good heart is a good combination to
have. He is also a good and loving son. Upon knowing his mother’s sickness, he
motivates himself to learn medicine and eventually travel to other countries to pursue
medicine, poetry and other things. He is a very calm person and has the ability to think
rationally even in the most complicated circumstances. He is a very sincere person and
always stand for what is right. His sincerity and righteousness sometimes led him to be
self-centered and being not open-minded. Some say that he wrote his novels for his
own selfish motives and that he was blinded by his ambition and failed to see the truth.
Selfish motives or not, if it had not been for Rizal’s novels, the Filipinos would not have
been free from the oppression of the Spaniards.
Dr. Jose Rizal’s family was a wealthy family and considered one of the largest
families in those times. I must say that that he has a happy home, filled with parental
affection, infuse with family joys, and sanctified by prayers. They respect and protect
each other. They were bound together by the ties of love and companionship. God
became the center of their family. His family molded him to become a better person and
taught him to work hard. His family becomes a great part of his early education. His
parents inspired him and molded him into what he became. His mother became his first
teacher and enhanced his intellectual skills. At an early age, Rizal witnessed the
cruelties and abuses of the Spaniards. His brother Paciano instilled in his mind the love
for freedom and justice. His brother opened his eyes to the injustices by the Spaniards
at that time.
I believe that Rizal wanted to prove that Filipinos are not indolent and by this, he
wanted to put an end to the Filipino insults about this instilled culture. He wanted to
awaken his countrymen to their own faults and at the same time condemning the
defects in Spain’s colonial system which causes vulnerabilities among Filipinos. And
although many of the society’s wickedness are due to the Spanish exaggeration,

Reflection Paper-Life and Works of Rizal | Geraldine M. Gupo

Filipinos themselves had also contributed willingly and generously to their own nation's
deterioration. I think that in Rizal’s mind, this complicity on the part of the Filipinos
themselves could be traced to their willingness to sacrifice the common good for their
own selfish advancement by justifying the denigration of the Spaniards. I also think
Rizal sees Filipinos as cowards and had no self-respect because no one dared to fight
for their rights, for their freedom, and for the equality. They were swallowed up by their
own fear. The Filipinos are quite contented with the Spanish colonization. They think
that they rather suffer because it is more difficult for them to change. But Rizal, being a
Filipino sacrifices everything for his homeland. He was brave enough to fight the enemy.
He attempts what others refused to undertake. He tried to correct the slander which has
been attributed to our country for centuries. His way may not with the use of the gun
but rather that of the pen, the book, and the mind. His words served to fuel the struggle
of the Filipinos. There is no doubt that his life was filled with activities dedicated to the
betterment of the nation.
The Spaniards came to our country, ruled our land and used us as their slaves.
They are ruthless, heartless and cruel. We were so pitiful, powerless, asking for
freedom and thirsty for liberty. Spaniards abuse power and authority over us. What
Filipino’s were asking is for equal rights, but what we get are chains in the hand of
Spaniards. The courts of justice were notoriously corrupt. Verily, they were courts of
injustice. They were incompetent and oftentimes ignorant of the law. Even Dr. Jose
Rizal and his family were victims of Spanish injustice. He was never given a chance for
prosecution. Dr. Jose Rizal was executed not for the sake of justice but for their own
sake.
Spaniards introduced Christianity to Filipinos with its beautiful concept of
brotherhood under the name of God but they regarded us as inferior beings who were
undeserving of the rights and privileges that they enjoyed. Filipinos were discriminated
against and were called “Indios”. The friars controlled the religious and educational life
of the Philippines and acquire tremendous political power, influence, and riches. They
had continued to use religion, specifically the teachings of the Catholic Church and the
words of God to conform and manipulate Filipinos. They are spreading the word of God
but they themselves are committing sin. They mismanaged the land of Filipinos, collect

Reflection Paper-Life and Works of Rizal | Geraldine M. Gupo

excessive taxes but the money they collected does not even go to the government but
to their own hands. People were wailing. Filipinos were miserable. At those lowest
times, it was Dr. Jose Rizal who was brave enough to stand against Spaniards. He had
been very vocal against the Spanish government. For him, the pen was mightier than a
sword. And through his two popular novels which are “Noli Me Tangere” and “El
Filibusterismo”, he exposed the social cancer of the country. He lifted the curtain to
show the truth about the government. In his novels, he tried to correct the harmful
accusations against Filipinos. He brought out in the open the sad state of his country, all
their grievances, and frustrations. It was his novels who inspire other Filipinos like The
Katipuneros to fight for reform and justice. His life serves as a light to every Filipinos to
do their best for the country as well as for educating people where his legacy lives on.

Reflection Paper-Life and Works of Rizal | Geraldine M. Gupo