Name: Angelo Christian B.

Oreñada
Course/Section: BSA2A

Reflection Paper

What is the most important part of his European tour/stay? Explain.

The most important part of his European tour/stay is that he wrote manuscripts of Noli
Me Tangere during his stay in Berlin. With the help of Maximo Viola, who gave him the
financial needs for publication of the novel, Noli Me Tangere was published.

This part of his European tour/stay is very significant for me because he was able to
observe European lives, cultures, laws, and governments in preparation for the
Philippines' liberation from Spain's tyrannical rule. He had access to information about
their society and also gained first hand experience with their culture by observing them
closely, which became an asset for him in writing "Noli Me Tangere" later on. Rizal was
able to see how other countries were run by their governments and through his eyes, he
had developed a sense of urgency for change. He realized how backward his country
was compared to other European countries.

In summary, Rizal has a secret mission in Europe aside from studying and gaining
further knowledge of ophthalmology. This secret mission was to observe keenly the life
and culture, customs, government and laws of the European nations. This is to
ascertain what these countries were like so he could return with a broad understanding
of how they differ.