El Filibusterismo Summary

After years of being away from the Philippines, Crisistomo Ibarra came back to
get his revenge and to take back Maria Clara from the convent using his new name,
Simoun. Being away from the Philippines, he strived hard to gain wealth and power by
getting acquainted with Spanish officials. When Simoun came back to the Philippines,
he was free to do whatever he wants since no one knew him and also because he
befriended the governor general. He became a person completely opposite from what
he used to be. From the use of pen and education into the use of violence and letting
vengeance take over. Using his political influence, he urged the officials to be corrupt
and degraded his fellow citizen to mold their minds into starting a revolt. He worked
with Quiroga, a Chinese merchant, to smuggle arms which will be used in the uprising.
Though they have prepared for the revolt, it didn’t happen because Simoun learned
about the death of Maria Clara to which he failed to give the signal for the uprising.
After mourning for the death of Maria Clara, for the second time, Simoun planned
another uprising. He had given Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez a lamp as a
wedding gift that contains explosive materials which will destroy the place where the
wedding was held and will kill a lot of people specifically corrupt government officials
and friars. This will served as a signal to the men of Simoun to make explosions in all
the buildings of the government in Manila. In the near execution of the plan, Basilio,
warns his friend Isagani, who loves Paulita Gomez, that there will be a massive
explosion that will kill all people at the venue of the wedding. Upon knowing the danger,
Isagani quickly ran into the house to save Paulita Gomez from the explosion at the
expense of his life by successfully taking the lamp into the river before it exploded.
Because of this, Simoun’s planned uprising was discovered to which the soldiers badly
beaten him up before he could escape with his treasure. He hide in the house of Padre
Florentino but it was discovered by the civil guards who planned to arrest him. Simoun
made up his to drink a poison so the civil guards cannot arrest him. In his last
moments, Simoun confessed his plans of revenge and who he really was to Padre
Florentino. Upon the death of Simoun, Padre Florentino offered prayers for his soul
and have decided to throw the treasure that Simoun brought with him into the sea,
(koyndotph, 2018)
References
koyndotph. (2018, April 10). Sypnosis of Jose Rizal's Novel, "El Filibusterismo".
Retrieved from owlcation.com: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Life-and-
Works-of-Rizal-Synopsis-of-El-Filibusterismo