Jamito, Joanna Marie C.

BSMA 2201

NARRATIVE REPORT: LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSE P. RIZAL

Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Philippines. While
living in Europe, Rizal wrote about the discrimination that accompanied Spain’s
colonial rule of his country. He returned to the Philippines in 1892, but was exiled
due to his desire for reform. Although he supported peaceful change, Rizal was
convicted of sedition and executive on December 30, 1896, at the age of 35.
Jose Rizal whose full name was Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Alonzo Y
Realonda, he was a national hero of the Philippines and lives between 1861 to
1896. Jose Rizal is widely regarded by many Filipino’s as the most revered and
documented Filipino that has ever lived. Though he lived a short life, Jose Rizal
attained the status of national hero in the heart of many Filipino’s for his immense
contribution towards securing independence for the Philippines from its Spanish
colonial overlords. He was a remarkable man in many respects and left his foot
prints in the sands of time within the short period that he lived. He was born on
the 19th of June 1861 to the affluent Mercado-Rizal family in Calamba, Laguna in
the Philippines. His parents were Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonzo
Realonda and he had ten siblings; a brother and nine sisters. From a tender age,
Jose Rizal showed precocity in his natural ability and his brother, Paciano,
embraced political ideas that were far ahead of their times. Rizal’s early
education was under Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Laguna. He was later sent by his
father to Manila to take the entrance examinations into Colegio de San Juan de
Letran which he did but elected to join the Ateneo Municipal de Manila instead
and graduated as one among nine distinguished students. He proceeded to
study Land surveying assessor obtained a degree in the same institution while at
the same time took a course of preparation in law at the University of Santo
Tomas. When he found out his mother’s eye problems, he decided to switch from
law to ophthalmology. While studying in Madrid he also took Medical lectures in
the University of Paris and the University of Heidenberg, Berlin. He wrote many
poems and novels such as “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” and other
which contend revolutionary ideas of freedom and the rights of the individuals.
His works were also critical of the Spanish colonial authorities of their double
standards as well as the Spanish Friars of their corrupt ways. His works
eventually influenced the freedom of many Filipino activities both the peaceful
and violent ones which resulted into a revolution which took place shortly after
his death in 1896.

His activities earned him the enmity of Spanish authorities and in October 1896,
he was arrested on his way to Cuba where he was heading to as a medical
volunteer. Rizal was imprisoned in Barcelona, later repatriated back to the
Philippines and tried by a military tribunal which found him guilty and was
summarily executed by firing squad that same year. Jose Rizal was a remarkable
man in many ways. He was both a polyglot and polymath and displayed rare
courage and intellect quite far ahead of his times. He laid the foundation the
eventual independence of the Philippines from its Spanish overlord by
successfully challenging Spain’s moral right to rule. He is quite rightly regarded
as a National hero by many Filipino’s. While in Europe, Jose Rizal became part
of Propaganda movement, connecting with other Filipino’s who wanted reform.
He also wrote his first novel, Noli Me Tangere (Touch me not/The social cancer),
a work that detailed the dark aspects of Spain’s colonial rule in the Philippines,
with particular focus on the role of catholic friars. The book was band in the
Philippines, though copies were smuggled in. Because of this novel, Rizal’s
return to the Philippines in 1887 was cut short hi was targeted by the police. Rizal
returned to Europe and continued to write, releasing his follow-up novel, El
Filibusterismo (the reign of greed) in 1891. He also published the articles in La
Solidaridad, a paper aligned with the Propaganda movements. The reforms Rizal
advocated for did not include independence he called for equal treatment of the
Filipino’s, laminating the power of Spanish friars and representation for the
Philippines in the Spanish Cortes (Spain’s parliament).
At the age of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while learning to
read and write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his
family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his mouldings of
clay. At the age 8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, "Sa Aking Mga Kabata," the theme
of which revolves on the love of one’s language. In1877, at the age of 16, he
obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an average of "excellent" from the
Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year, he enrolled in Philosophy and
Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses
leading to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished
the latter course on March 21, 1877and passed the Surveyor’s examination on
May 21, 1878; but because of his age, 17, he was not granted license to practice
the profession until December 30, 1881. In 1878, he enrolled in medicine at the
University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his studies when he felt that the
Filipino students were being discriminated upon by their Dominican tutors.

On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the
Universidad Central de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was
conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19, 1885, at the age
of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of "excellent.
Having travelled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22
languages. These include Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German,
Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian,
Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects. A versatile genius, he was
an architect, artists, businessman, cartoonists, educator, economist, ethnologist,
scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist,
nationalist, naturalist, novelist, ophthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist,
psychologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and theologian. He was an expert
swordsman and a good shot.

His sincerity and friendliness won for him the trust and confidence of even those
assigned to guard him; his good manners and warm personality were found
irresistible by women of all races with whom he had personal contacts; his
intelligence and humility gained for him the respect and admiration of prominent
men of other nations; while his undaunted courage and determination to uplift the
welfare of his people were feared by his enemies. When the Philippine
Revolution started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time in pressing him
down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with the revolt and
these were never allowed to be confronted by him. Thus, from November 3,
1986, to the date of his execution, he was again committed to Fort Santiago. In
his prison cell, he wrote an untitled poem, now known as "Ultimo Adios" which is
considered a masterpiece and a living document expressing not only the hero’s
great love of country but also that of all Filipinos. After a mock trial, he was
convicted of rebellion, sedition and of forming illegal association. In the cold
morning of December 30,1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life had been
packed with varied activities which proved that the Filipino has capacity to equal
if not excel even those who treat him as a slave, was shot at Bagumbayan Field.

Rizal, ready and calm, took his position opposite his executioners. His last words
were those of Jesus Christ: “consummatum est”, it is finished. Then Roll of drums
and a volley of artillery accompany the firing of the soldiers. And even at the
moment of his fall, Rizal turns his body so that he ends up lying on his back, with
his face to the sun. The elegant Spanish ladies wave their handkerchiefs, the
Gentlemen applaud. And while the Filipinos see the execution in enraged
silence, calls of "Viva España!" resound thunderously. Rizal was secretly buried
in Paco Cemetery in Manila with no identification on his grave. His sister Narcisa
toured all possible gravesites and found freshly turned earth at the cemetery with
guards posted at the gate. Assuming this could be the most likely spot, there
never having any ground burials, and she made a gift to the caretaker to mark
the site "RPJ", Rizal’s initials in reverse.