Rizal the Harbinger of Revolution

Jamyre Aldrich J. Merilo

Introduction

Rizal Life and Works of a Hero

José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, full named José

Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, a

small town in the Laguna Province. As a young child, he displayed a

remarkable intellectual qualification and transferred to Manila for further

education, finally finishing his second level education at Ateneo de Municipal

Manila. He continued his education at the university level, seeking a law

career at Santo Tomas University in Manila. Even so, Rizal's creativity and

dream took him to learn in Spain, France, and finally Germany, where he

received an acclaim in the medical field with a specialty in ophthalmology

(Palma, 1949;Rizal, Blumentritt, & Alzona, 1962).

Along with his scientific mind, Rizal was also gifted with the mind and

soul of an artist. He excelled as a poet, a sculptor, a painter, and a novelist,

where he made his greatest impact. While studying in Europe, he wrote two

brilliant novels, Noli Me Tangere (1886/2006) and El Filibusterismo

(1891/2009) , which encouraged reformers and revolutionaries in the

Philippines to voice out and then take a stand against the

Spanish. Additional to these main works, Rizal also authored a collection of

significant articles in the Spanish newspaper El Solidaridad, which raised

awareness of the injustice of Spanish rule and the importance of Filipino

culture, identity and intellect. He returned to the Philippines in 1892,

recognizing that he would be a major concern for the Spanish government.

With that danger in perspective, he traveled home to be involved in

attempts to reform the colonial regime, with the long-term aim of restoring

sovereignty to the Filipino people. He was captured, tried, and executed in

1896 (Constantino, 1975; Palma, 1949).

Noli Me Tangere

Tells the story of Crisostomo Ibarra, who (like Rizal) returned to the

Philippines after years of education abroad. Ibarra views Spanish colonists

different to the way he did before he departed. Where once he thought the

leaders were benign or even compassionate, he came to see them as

inequitable and barbaric oppressors who deprive the Filipinos their history,

customs, language, faith, identity and intellectual capacity. The book reveals

how colonialism has stripped dignity away from the Filipinos and instilled in

them a shame and powerlessness that prevents them from improving

academically and spiritually (Coates, 1968)

El Filibusterismo

El Filibusterismo was the sequel to Noli Me Tangere. It is a distinctly

deeper novel that proposes anarchy and rebellion as a means to save the

Philippines from its Spanish colonists. The story revolves around Ibarra, who

returns (after faking his death in Rizal's previous book) as a militant

revolutionary bent on dismantling Spanish rule through force and guerrilla

tactics. At the conclusion, Ibarra tries to assassinate several high-ranking

Spaniards attending a gathering, but he is betrayed by one of his own

friends, whose affection for a woman at the party overpowers his love for

the country and revolution. This betrayal leads to Ibarra being wounded and

ultimately dying after losing his certainty about whether what he was doing

was really selfless liberation or petty revenge.

Taken as a whole, Rizal’s books might be seen as a meditation on the

various paths that one might take to change an oppressive system. On the

other hand, Noli puts faith in the goodness of man and in the idea that the

truth will eventually carry the day. Filibusterismo, on the other hand,

assumes the worst and sees only violent revolution as a means to change. In

the end, Rizal leaves it to the reader to decide which course of action is best,

although he does not allow that accepting the status quo is a viable option—

Filipinos should either work to reform the system through peaceful means or

take back their country by force (Hau, 2000)

Conceptual Framework

The paper is conceptualized by reading and understanding Rizal’s life

And education and how it relates to the formation of Jose Rizal’s political

mind that helped in awakening Filipino nationalism that lead to revolution

and freedom. When studying in Spain at the Universidad Central de Madrid,

Rizal was introduced to existing controversies involving liberals and

conservative Catholics (Bonoan, 1994: 13). This inevitably led to the

development of a full dedication to the principle of freedom of expression

and investigation (Bonoan, 1994: 17). In a letter to his mother in 1885, he

said: "As for what you mean about my duties as a Christian, I have the

privilege of telling you that for a moment I have never ceased to believe in

any of the basic values of our faith. The values of my childhood have given

way to the convictions of young people, which I hope will be rooted in me in

time. Every fundamental conviction that cannot withstand scrutiny and the

test of time must be consigned to memory and removed from the heart. I

don't have to live on lies and falsehoods. What I believe now, I believe by

reason, because my conscience would only admit that which is consistent

with the values of thinking.' I believe that God would not condemn me if I

were to use his most precious gift of wisdom and intellect when I

approached him.' (Rizal, 1959: 224, quoted above in Bonoan, 1994: 19).

Rizal said that independence would come from enlightenment, arguing that

the underdevelopment of Filipino culture was due to colonial rule's

distortions rather than the natives' intrinsic flaws. Because of the Church's

backwardness, colonial rule was repressive. The Church was opposed to

enlightenment and reason's superiority. The European Enlightenment

benefited Filipinos, but the Church opposed it because it defined justification

as the ultimate power, rather than God or the Church. While Marx, Weber,

and Durkheim both concluded that rationality had been insane in the sense

that modernity was alienating, anomic, and essentially irrational, Rizal had a

different perspective on the Enlightenment (Bonoan, 1994). His works do not

show the same level of disillusionment or ambivalence toward reason as

much of Western thinking at the time. This was most likely due to Rizal's

belief that the Philippines were not properly modern, and that they were

being held back by an anti-rational Church.

As Rizal predicts in El Filibusterismo, this leads to the rise of the filibustero,

or "dangerous nationalist who will soon be hanged," in other words, the

insurgent (Rizal, 1992: 69). The uprising against Spanish rule and the

Church seems to be unavoidable and the only way to achieve independence.

El Filibusterismo is a revolutionary prescription. The 1887 Noli doesn't go as

far as the Fili. It only emphasizes the need to depose the villainous

Franciscan friars' civil authority. In the eyes of the Noli, the Spanish Captain

General, a colonial officer, wielding civil and military authority is fair and

progressive. In the book, Elias, a noble, patriotic, and selfless Filipino, dies,
while Ibarra, an egoist in love with Maria Clara, the classic image of Filipino

womanhood, survives.

Rizal's thinking seems to have shifted in the Fili. Both the clerics, this time

Dominican monks, and the mercenary Captain General are also among the

villains. The revolution fails, a result of Rizal's appraisal of the Filipino

people's lack of preparedness for revolution. He was concerned that anyone

leading a revolt would be inspired mostly by self-interest rather than social

commitment (Majul, 2001: 68). Rizal himself was hesitant to pursue the

movement because he did not believe in a doomed revolution. In his deeds

and essays, Rizal, on the other hand, was a revolutionary. When he was

hanged for treason against Spain, he paid the ultimate price for his actions.

Rationalization

Rizal’s action and works can be rationalized as his love for the country;

Desire to free the Filipinos from the tyrannical Spanish colonizers. Jose Rizal

expresses his ideas through words to people to stand up for their country.

He believed that everyone should be free. Jose Rizal started the movement

to free his country, the Philippines, from the clutches of Spain. Rizal’s

admirable qualities of intelligence, courageousness, and determination

helped him risk everything to save his country. Rizal's goal in annotating and

republishing this work was to address what he saw as inaccurate accounts

and defamatory claims contained in many of these Spanish writings on the

Philippines. He also aimed to reclaim the pre-colonial history that

colonization had removed from Filipinos' memories (Rizal, 1890/1962: vii).

This involves the loss of pre-Spanish archives and items that would have

shed light on pre-colonial society's nature (Zaide, 1993: 5). De Morga's work

stood out since it was the only civil history of the Philippines published

during the early Spanish colonial era, as opposed to ecclesiastical history

(Ocampo, 1998: 192). Not only were ecclesiastical accounts troublesome

because they appeared to be biased, but they also "abound with tales of

devils, miracles, apparitions, and so forth, these comprising the bulk of the

voluminous histories of the Philippines" (de Morga, 1890/1962: 291 n. 4).

Rizal's annotations emphasized the following: pre-colonial Filipino

advancements in agriculture and industry; the colonized's point of view on

different issues; colonizers' cruelties; colonizers' hypocrisy, especially the

Catholic Church; and the irrationality of the Church's debate on colonial

topics. Jose Rizal once said "I have always loved my poor country and I am

sure that I shall love her until death this is one influence that many people

try to stand up against Spain, if someone is bigger than you and tries to hurt

you, stand up and get him to leave yourself or anyone alone. Rizal faced the

country’s enslavement by Spain. Rizal’s expressive ideas about the terror of

the Spanish government in his novels and ask to gain the Philippine

government. It inspires many people by Rizal’s books and words as he

wanted freedom. Rizal wrote two novels Noli Me Tangere and El

Filibusterismo to show people how the Philippines were being bondaged by

Spain. Jose made the Philippine League to get their first reform group and to

get their freedom from Spain. Jose Rizal an inspiration to Philippine history

for making the first reform group that is set up by the Philippines; his death

brought out the people's strengths to fight back in the name of Rizal. This

affected many who lived in the Philippines. If we didn’t have our freedom

who knows what would have happened. Remember the American Revolution

when the Patriots (USA) wanted to be free from England, it’s just like it. The

Philippines are the Patriots and Spain as England. Rizal is the leader who

started and inspired people to fight back to be free and equal as a country.

Jose Rizal is a true hero. He showed qualities of intelligence,

courageousness, and determination to fight for all men born equal and to

rise up against obstacles that will come for you.

Conclusion

Rizal’s works and death only strengthened the movement toward

revolution. Outraged by their hero's death, Filipinos mobilized to the cause

of liberation, sparking the uprising that would ultimately end the Spanish

rule of the Philippines. Rizal was a real martyr who spoke out about

oppression while others remained silent. His theories aided in the formation

of a national identity for the Philippines, which was a novel concept in Asia at
the time. He fought for his convictions until he died. With the death of this

intellectual figure, his country suffered a huge loss, as he would have

certainly played a key role in the Philippines gaining independence and

recognition. The world lost an exemplary citizen, a multitalented man with a

brilliant mind. He accomplished so much in his brief 35 years, one can only

imagine what contributions he would have made to the world and to the field

of ophthalmology if he had lived a full life span. To his patients he gave

sight, and to his country he gave vision. Rizal is regarded as a national hero

in the Philippines, where he has become an emblem of the country's fight for

liberation. In the Philippines, December 30, the day of Rizal's execution in

1896, is commemorated as a national holiday. In Manila, the Jose Rizal

College was named after him in 1919. In Manila, near the site of his

execution in Luneta Park, in his hometown and most Filipino cities, in

Heidelberg, and in Chicago, there are commemorative monuments to Rizal.

His image can be seen on a two-peso bill in the Philippines. Rizal was named

for the area surrounding Manila, which included his hometown of Calamba.

His books are compulsory reading for high school students in the Philippines.

Perhaps the easiest way to summarize Jose Rizal is to use his own words

from the poem he penned from his cell the night before his execution. One

of the final stanzas of "Ultimo Adios" (Final Farewell) demonstrates his

selfless commitment to his homeland, family loyalty, profound piety amid

church ridicule, and creative grace.

Recommendations

This paper was made in compliance with the Final Examination of

the subject Readings of the Life and Works of Rizal. The paper deals with the

contribution of Rizal to the Philippine revolution. Moreover, due to the limited

knowledge of the student who wrote this paper, there may be certain lapses

and points that have been overlooked. Thus, it is recommended to pursue a

deeper and more detailed study on Rizal’s works and how they influenced

the Philippine revolution. In order to have a much better understanding and

useful studies, the author recommends the guidance of experts and

academics that specializes on the life and works of Rizal.

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