Q2. WHAT WAS RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH?

I. OPENING STATEMENT
Rizal lauded the coming generation. This poem might be viewed as Rizal’s first
witness and exposition of his nationalism. He definitely alluded to the Philippines as his
home/motherland in this literary composition. Rizal's concept in the poem refers to the
role of the youth in nation building.
Dr. Jose Rizal composed the poem “To the Filipino Youth,” dedicating to the
youth of the Philippines. He wanted the Filipino youth to use their capabilities, talents
and skills to stand out not only for their own praise and success but also for the praise
and success of their own motherland, the Philippines. Dr. Jose Rizal wanted the Filipino
youth to build up their abilities and use them to help those who are in need. Also, Dr.
Jose Rizal challenged the youth through this poem to refine and nurture their talents in
the arts, to invigorate and reinforce their knowledge of the sciences, and to look forward
and comminute their chain of servitude.
II. a – 1st REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Rizal was congratulated by the Jesuits especially his former professors in
Ateneo, friends and family. It is a classic Philippine literature because it was the first
Spanish poem written by a Filipino and was recognized by Spanish literary authority.
Another reason is that it expresses that the Filipinos were the "fair hope of the
Fatherland" and not the Spaniards. A La Juventud Filipina is an inspiring poem that
states that the Filipino youth are capable of great heights. It urges the Filipino youth to
reach their potential by harnessing their skills and talents for the betterment of our
countrymen. It motivates the youth to free Filipinos from ignorance, and to seek freedom
and human dignity. (Reyes, n.d)
I. b – ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION OF THE 1st RRL
In the statement, this poem may have been written during the Spanish
colonization, but the essence of it applies to our generation as well. Currently, our
country's economy is not doing so well. We have a lot of debt and many internal issues
unresolved. Only a few years from now, our generation will be handling those problems.
But how can we, if we are only sitting around and being satisfied with mediocre work.
The poem reminds us that we, as Filipino youth, have a duty to serve our countrymen to
our full extent. In order to do this, we must harness talents and skills that we have. We
must also take initiative to help our country. Anyone of us can be able to contribute to
the better development of our country. The vision that Rizal had for our country can
become a reality if and only if we remember our duty.
II. a – 2nd REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Rizal mentioned “Spaniard’s holy land” and “crown’s resplendent band” in the 4th
stanza of his poem showing good attributes to the Spaniards. These words were chosen
to balance his thoughts of criticizing them in the 3rd stanza, where Spaniards put
"chains" to every Filipinos. Rizal called to untie the chains and prevail the youths' “spirit
free”.

All of Rizal’s dreams to the Filipino youths are simply a replica to what he has
done throughout his life. He was more bias towards using one’s own intelligence to fight
against the flaming zone created by the Spaniards. He even portrayed a pen as mightier
than a sword. On the 8th stanza, he even wanted to transform the clear accent of every
 Filipinos, which is the voice of freedom of every Filipinos, to a magical art using a brush
that is to be simply portrayed on a canvas. (Guiller, 2012)
III. b – ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION OF THE 2nd RRL

Through the statement above, In the poem, he advocated for rising and waking
up. Did Rizal ever think of arm struggle? Though he wanted to make Filipinos spread
around the flame, go for the sacred fire, and use one’s divine voice, Rizal was
seemingly unclear about his specific moves to save the country. As we all know about
him, Rizal neither introduced arm struggle or a bloody revolution to claim for victory.
Instead, he advocated for an immortal strength, one that must use his intellect. Simply
speaking, Rizal wants to communicate the means of making peaceful process to
achieve freedom. This is an immortal messaged directed to the present and the future. It
is imperative that we must fulfill our responsibilities as we use our skills, knowledge,
talent, and strength in advancing our country.

IV. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

Dr. Jose Rizal’s poems have significant message to everyone, the poem “To the
Filipino Youth” is a masterpiece worth reading and comprehending for. If I were to base
my judgments, I can personally describe it as a “real poem” that is, something that
beautifully incorporated the essential elements of poetry. While I was examining its
every line, I was really captured and amazed with the manner of writing, the message it
tries to stress and insist, and of course with the sincerity and genuineness of the poem.
These things made me feel more eager and interested to continue reading Jose Rizal’s.
These aspects were the principal strengths of the poem, reasoning why my attention
and time was whole heartedly and heavily caught through this poem.

V. CLOSING STATEMENT

The message of the poem, “To the Filipino Youth” is holding a very strong one;
strong enough to persuade/induce those who are to be persuaded/induced, the Filipino
Youth. As one of those individuals, I could really feel the nationalistic courage within me
glow brighter the moment I finished reading the poem. It was like telling me that I am
one of the existing hopes of our country and that through my skills, abilities, expertise
and knowledge of things, I am capable of protecting its freedom against oppressive
forces that may come through. Moreover, it was like telling me that together with my co-
youth, I am responsible for preserving the Philippines as a nation for me and the rest of
the Filipinos and not for the foreigners. Moreover, based on what I felt when I was
reading the poem and the emotions that were expressed on each of the poem’s line, as
to the sincerity of the poem, I considered “To the Filipino Youth” as indeed a work from
the heart with no pretension, no boastfulness, no haughtiness and no plasticity. You can
really feel the eagerness that Dr. Jose Rizal wanted everyone to have consisted. Lastly,
in this present era, youth’s improvement was never an easy task, but I believe
everything God was invented is meant to be accomplished. If we, this nation’s youth will
hold and nurture everything our parents, mentors, and leaders invested. We, the youth
can grow to be responsible adults of tomorrow.

VI. REFERENCES

Guiller, D. (2012). An Interpretation to Rizal’s Poem Entitled “To the Filipino Youth”.
http://dgdelfin.blogspot.com/2012/12/an-interpretation-to-rizals-poem.html

Reyes, A. (n.d). A Reflection on "A La Juventud Filipina".

http://writingsofrizal.weebly.com/a-la-juventud-filipina.html