GED0049

LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL

 MODULE 5: Subtopic 1

Annotation of Antonio
Morga’s Sucesos de las
Islas Filipinas
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Review the contextual report of Rizal on Morga’s

analysis on the culture of the Philippines.
2. Recognize the complements and contrasts of Rizal’s
anecdotes on the book.

Life and Works of Rizal

To the Filipinos:
(Dr. Jose P. Rizal,
center beside
Marcelo H. Del
Pilar and other
Filipinos in
Madrid, Spain,
1890.)
Governor Antonio de Morga was not only the first to write but also
the first to publish a Philippine history.

Father Chirino's work, printed at Rome in 1604, is rather a chronicle of

the Missions than a history of the Philippines.

The worthy Jesuit in fact admits that he abandoned writing a political

history because Morga had already done so, so one must infer that he
had seen the work in manuscript before leaving the Islands.
Antonio de
Morga
 ANTONIO
MORGA'S
SUCESOS DE LAS
ISLAS FILIPINAS
Renaming the Philippines
Scenario:
Let’s say you discovered these islands
known today as Philippines, but it is yet
to be named. What factors would you
consider in naming said islands. Create
a paper, consisting of at least 3
paragraphs.
Rizal's Life and Minor Writtings, pp 310-331, Austin Craig, 1929,
Translations were made by Mr. Chas. E. Derbyshire for the
author.

Dr. Jose Rizal's annotations to Morga's 1609 Philippine History,

https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/966/dr-jose-
rizals-annotations-to-morgas-1609-philippine-history
Noli Me Tangere
 Noli Me Tangere

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the discussion, the learner should be able to:
• Appraise the importance of the Characters in the novel and how they represent the Filipino
culture and society
• Recognize role of the novel in influencing the Filipino people to awaken their desire
for revolt against their Spanish oppressors (coupled with El Filibusterismo)
 Textual Analysis of
Noli Me Tangere

• The Author and the Novel’s style,

Title, Cover, Preface, Theme,
Characters, Plot, Point of Conflict
and Denouement
 The author and the novel’s style

Technique refers to the method and devices that the author uses; style refers to
language.
• The Noli me Tángere can be regarded as a historical novel, as it
has mostly fictional characters but also historical persons like
Father Burgos who lived in actual places within a social system
that was then typical of a colonized land.

• Admittedly, Rizal exaggerated a bit, as in his portrayal of

characters like the friars Damaso, Salvi, and Sibyla; the two
women who were preoccupied with prayers and novenas, and,
the Espadañas but, on the whole, the novel follows the basic
rules of realism.
• Humor worked best where a more serious presentation of the
general practices of religion during that time (and even up to
present time) would have given the novel a darker and
pessimistic tone.

• Rizal’s description of the lavish fiesta showed the comic antics at

church and the ridiculous expense for one day of festivities.
Title
Noli me tángere
• Literally translated, the Latin words “noli me tángere” means,
“touch me not”
• Taken from John 20:17 when Mary Magdalene holds on to
Jesus and he tells her not to touch him.

John 20:17
Jesus said to her: “Stop clinging to me. For I have not yet
ascended to the Father . But be on your way to my brothers
and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and to your
Father and to my God and your God.”
 Noli Me Tangere
Introduction
• When Dr. Jose Rizal was 26, he published his first
novel “Noli Me Tangere” in Belgium in the year
1887. It was the Book that gave a spark in the
Philippine Revolutions. It talked about the
Spaniard’s arrogance and despicable use of
religion to achieve their own desires and rise to
power. It mostly talked about the life of
Crisostomo Ibarra, a member of the Insulares
(Creoles) social class, and a series of unfortunate
events that he encountered through the works of
a Franciscan friar, namely Padre Damaso
Verdolagas, and by the Spanish conquistadors.
 Noli Me Tangere
Introduction
• Noli Me Tangere, a Latin phrase used by Jose
Rizal as a title for his first novel, was actually
the words used by Jesus Christ to Mary
Magdalene when she saw him resurrected
from the dead. It roughly translated as “Touch
Me Not” in English. These words were said
because Jesus, although risen in body and in
spirit, was not the same for as he was before.
Being glorified, waiting for the right time to
ascend to Heaven and such, he did not allow
himself yet to be known until the Great
Commission.
 The Cover Symbols
• SILHOUETTE OF A FILIPINA- It was popular belief
that the silhouette of the woman in the cover of
Noli Me Tangere is the unfortunate Maria Clara,
Crisostomo Ibarra’s lover.
• 'Padre Cura! Padre Cura!' [Padre Salvi] the
Spaniards cried to him; but he did not mind them.
He ran in the direction of the Capitan Tiago's
house. There he breathed a sigh of relief. He saw
through the transparent gallery an adorable
silhouette full of grace and the lovely contours of
Maria Clara and that of her aunt bearing glasses
and cups." (366)
A MAN IN A CASSOCK WITH HAIRY FEET
This symbolism at the lower part of the
cover is to be a representation for priests using
religion in a dirty way, specifically Padre Damaso.
"However, Padre Damaso is not mysterious
like those monks; he is jolly and if the sound of his
voice is brusque like that of a man who has never
bitten his tongue and who believes everything he
utters is sacrosanct and cannot be improved upon,
his gay and frank laughter erases this disagreeable
impression, even to the extent that one feels bound
to forgive him his sockless feet and a pair of hairy
legs which would fetch the fortune of a Mendiata in
the Quiapo fair."
 HELMET OF THE GUARDIA
CIVIL/CONSTABULARY HELMET
An obvious take on the arrogance of those in
authority.
"The Alferez [Dona Consolacion's husband]
picked up his helmet, straightened himself a bit
and marched off with loud giant strides. After a
few minutes he returned, not making the least
sound. He had removed his boots. The
servants, accustomed to these spectacles
[violent arguments between the Alferez and
Dona Consolacion], were usually bored, but
the removal of the boots called their attention.
They winked at each other."
 WHIP/CORD
The cruelties present in the novel best explains
the symbol Rizal used in the cover.

"[Dona Consolacion] took a few turns in the room

twisting the whip in her calloused hands and,
stopping all of a sudden in front of Sisa, told her in
Spanish, 'Dance!‘ "...[Dona Consolacion] raised the
whip -- that terrible whip familiar to thieves and
soldiers, made in Ulango and perfected by the
Alferez with twisted wires... And she started to
whip lightly the naked feet of the mad woman,
whose face contracted with pain, obliging her to
defend herself with her hands."
 CHAINS
Rizal’s representation of slavery and
imprisonment.

"Then you see the streets being tamped

down by a chain gang of prisoners with shaved
heads, clad in short-sleeved shirts and drawers
reaching to the knees, with numbers and letters
in blue; chains around their legs, half-wrapped in
dirty rags to reduce the abrasion, or perhaps the
coldness of the iron; joined in pairs, sun-burnt,
prostrate from heat and fatigue, given lashes,
and beaten with a club by another prisoner who
perhaps found comfort in ill-treating others."
 BAMBOO STALKS
One thing comes to mind when bamboo stalks are
talked about: Resilience.
Bamboo clumps of luxuriant foliage grew alongside
the highway. In other times she would stop in their
shade. Here she [Sisa] and her lover would rest;
with a tender exchange of words he would relieve
her of her basket of fruits and vegetables -- ay! that
was like dream. The lover became husband; the
husband was made into a barangay head and then
misfortune started knocking at her door. "As the
sun's heat was becoming intense, the soldiers
asked her if she wanted rest.
 CROSS
The one that killed the Christ Jesus. It was
a representation of suffering and death. It also
represent a grave. Magnifies the discrimination
towards Filipinos, Chinese Mestizos and Spaniards
during this time towards a proper burial.
Ibarra descended, followed by an old man-
servant. He dismissed the carriage with the gesture
and headed towards the cemetery, silent and
grave.
My sickness and my preoccupations have
not allowed me to return 'the old man was saying
timidly. Capitan Tiago said he would have a tomb
built, but I planted flowers and had a cross made.
•
 BURNING TORCH

A reference to the Olympic torch, it

tells everyone the beginning of the
defense of honors and the start of proving
themselves worthy of victory. Rage and
passion are most abundant in this
phase. Represents a phrase that could
possibly mean everything to every single
suffering Filipinos: “The rise of the
revolution is now at hand.”
POMELO BLOSSOMS AND LAUREL LEAVES

They roughly represent faith, honor and

fidelity. Pomelo blossoms are utilized as loose
potpourri or a mixture of dried flower petals and
spices used to scent the air. It is commonly used
in prayers and cleansing. The laurel leaves, also
known as bay leaves, are used as crowns during
the Ancient Greek Olympics wherein the best of
the best are treated as heroes. Filipinos in this
time wants to embody these three virtues that
Rizal represented as two plants.
 SUNFLOWERS
A unique behavior in sunflowers, known as
phototropism, is a motif that has appeared in
many ancient myths and is viewed as a symbol
of loyalty and constancy. The sunflower's
petals have been likened to bright yellow rays of
sunshine, which evoke feelings of warmth and
happiness. In addition, the sunflower is often
associated with adoration and longevity. Rizal’s
observation towards the happiness of the
Filipinos are, in the Spanish times, are only
fulfilled through their giving in and bowing down
to the more powerful entity: Spain.
At the top, all that is best in Philippine life: woman, symbolizing
constancy, religious faith symbolized by the tombstone, with a laurel
(courage) and the flower of the pomelo, worn by bride and groom at a
wedding and symbolizing purity.
The words partly covered by the title are the secret, inner dedication by
Rizal to his parents, the complete text being probably:
‘A mis P(adres.) al escribir e(sta obra he estado) pensando
continuamente e(n vosotros que me) habeis
infundido los (primeros pensamientos) y las primeras ideas; a (vosotros
os dedi)co este manuscrito de me (joventud com p)rueba de amor.
Berlin, (21 de Febrero de) 1887.
To the left of the title, the flower mirasol, representing youth seeking
the sun.
The author's name, meaning the green of renewal, mounting up into
the green of the most enduring of all Philippine trees, the bamboo.
At the bottom, all that is worst in Philippine life: the helmet of the Civil
Guard, the whip and instruments of torture, and the foot of a friar.
Preface
• In the preface of his novel Rizal promises “to reproduce
the condition (of the country) faithfully, without
discrimination”. He wants to sacrifice “to truth
everything”.
• Rizal wrote in his dedication page in the Noli me tángere,
“I will strive to reproduce thy condition faithfully, without
discriminations; I will raise a part of the veil that covers
the evil…”
• He clearly stated his intention of giving an accurate
picture of the conditions in the Philippines at the time,
and this gives the reader a good idea what the main
theme would be.
 Theme

Theme as an element of fiction is the idea that runs through the

whole novel, repeated again and again in various forms and ways.
• The theme of ‘Noli me Tangere’ comes from the Gospel of John.
John tells that when Jesus showed himself after the Resurrection,
it was first to Mary Magdalene.
• Jesus called her and she turned round and saw him. But Jesus did
not want her to touch him. He said literally to her, “Do not cling to
me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father.
• But go to the brothers and tell them: I am ascending to my father
and your Father, my God and your God.”
• The ‘Noli me Tangere’ or ‘Touch me not’ is a symbol of the need
for distance.
• The ‘Noli me Tangere’ is a similar theme of longing and
unfulfilment.
• There is no more tragic love and of course no greater love than of
two beings unable to reach each other, since such a love eternally
remains unblemished.
• Rizal's book persistently unmasks contemporary Spaniards in the
Philippines of every kind.
• He exposes corruption and brutality of the civil guards which drive
good men to crime and banditry.
• He focuses on an administration crawling with self-seekers, out to
make their fortune at the expense of the Filipinos, so that the few
officials who are honest and sincere are unable to overcome the
treacherous workings of the system, and their efforts to help the
country often end up in frustration or in self-ruin.
• The Noli is Rizal's exposé of corrupt friars who have made the Catholic
religion an instrument for enriching and perpetuating themselves in
power by seeking to mire ignorant Filipinos in fanaticism and
superstition.
• According to Rizal, instead of teaching Filipinos true Catholicism, they
control the government by opposing all progress and persecuting
members of the ilustrado unless they make themselves their servile
flatterers.
 Rizal does not, however, spare his fellow countrymen.

qthe superstitious and hypocritical fanaticism of many who consider

themselves religious people;
qthe ignorance, corruption, and brutality of the Filipino civil guards;
qthe passion for gambling unchecked by the thought of duty and responsibility;
qthe servility of the wealthy Filipino towards friars and government officials;
qthe ridiculous efforts of Filipinos to dissociate themselves from their
fellowmen or to lord it over them--all these are ridiculed and disclosed.
• Rizal nevertheless balances the national portrait by highlighting
the virtues and good qualities of his unspoiled countryman:
• the modesty and devotion of the Filipina, the unstinting hospitality of
the Filipino family,
• the devotion of parents to their children and children to their parents,
• the deep sense of gratitude, and
• the solid common sense of the untutored peasant.
• It calls on the Filipino to recover his self-confidence, to
appreciate his own worth, to return to the heritage of his
ancestors, and to assert himself as the equal of the Spaniard.
• It insists on the need of education, of dedication to the country,
and of absorbing aspects of foreign cultures that would enhance
the native traditions."
Characters

Major characters
• Ibarra (Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin) CHAPTER 2
Son of a Filipino businessman, Don Rafael Ibarra, he studied in
Europe for seven years. Ibarra is also María Clara's fiancé. Upon his
return, Ibarra requested the local government of San Diego to
construct a public school to promote education in the town.

• María Clara (María Clara de los Santos y Alba)

She was raised by Capitán Tiago, San Diego's cabeza de barangay
and is the most beautiful and widely celebrated girl in San Diego.
In the later parts of the novel, María Clara's identity was revealed as
an illegitimate daughter of Father Dámaso, former parish curate of
the town, and Doña Pía Alba, wife of Capitán Tiago. In the end she
entered local covenant for nuns Beaterio de Santa Clara.
• Capitán Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos) CHAPTER 6
is a Filipino businessman and the cabeza de barangay or head of barangay of the
town of San Diego. He is also the known father of María Clara. He is also said to be a
good Catholic, friend of the Spanish government and was considered as a Spanish by
colonialists. Capitán Tiago never attended school, so he became a domestic helper of
a Dominican friar who taught him informal education. He married Pía Alba from Santa
Cruz.
• Padre Dámaso (Dámaso Verdolagas)
is a Franciscan friar and the former parish curate of San Diego. He is best known as a
notorious character who speaks with harsh words and has been a cruel priest during
his stay in the town.
He is the real father of María Clara and an enemy of Crisóstomo's father, Rafael
Ibarra. Later, he and María Clara had bitter arguments whether she would marry
Alfonso Linares or go to a convent. At the end of the novel, he is again re-assigned to
a distant town and is found dead one day.
• Elías
is Ibarra's mysterious friend and ally. Elías made his first appearance as a pilot during
a picnic of Ibarra and María Clara and her friends.
He wants to revolutionize the country and to be freed from Spanish oppression.

• Filosofo Tacio(Pilosopo Tasyo) CHAPTER 14

Seeking for reforms from the government, he expresses his ideals in paper written in
a cryptographic alphabet similar from hieroglyphs and Coptic figures hoping "that
the future generations may be able to decipher it" and realized the abuse and
oppression done by the conquerors. His full name is only known as Don Anastacio.
The educated inhabitants of San Diego labeled him as Filosofo Tacio (Tacio the Sage)
while others called him as Tacio el Loco (Insane Tacio) due to his exceptional talent
for reasoning.
 Sisa, Crispín, and Basilio
Sisa, Crispín, and Basilio represent a Filipino family persecuted by the
Spanish authorities.

• Narcisa or Sisa is the deranged mother of Basilio and Crispín. Described as

beautiful and young, although she loves her children very much, she can
not protect them from the beatings of her husband, Pedro.
• Crispín is Sisa's 7-year-old son. An altar boy, he was unjustly accused of
stealing money from the church.
After failing to force Crispín to return the money he allegedly stole, Father
Salví and the head sacristan killed him.
• Basilio is Sisa's 10-year-old son. An acolyte tasked to ring the church bells
for the Angelus, he faced the dread of losing his younger brother and
falling of his mother into insanity.
Other characters
• Padre Hernando de la Sibyla – a Dominican friar. He is described as short and has fair skin.
He is instructed by an old priest in his order to watch Crisóstomo Ibarra.
• Padre Bernardo Salví – the Franciscan curate of San Diego, secretly harboring lust for
María Clara. He is described to be very thin and sickly. It is also hinted that his last name,
"Salvi" is the shorter form of "Salvi" meaning Salvation, or "Salvi" is short for "Salvaje"
meaning bad hinting to the fact that he is willing to kill an innocent child, Crispin, just to
get his money back, though there was not enough evidence that it was Crispin who has
stolen his 2 onzas.
• El Alférez or Alperes – chief of the Guardia Civil. Mortal enemy of the priests for power in
San Diego and husband of Doña Consolacion.
• Doña Consolacíon – wife of the Alférez, nicknamed as la musa de los guardias civiles (The
muse of the Civil Guards) or la Alféreza, was a former laundrywoman who passes herself
as a Peninsular; best remembered for her abusive treatment of Sisa. CHAPTER 39
• Doña Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña CHAPTER 42
is an ambitious Filipina who classifies herself as a Spanish and mimics Spanish
ladies by putting on heavy make-up.
• Don Tiburcio de Espadaña – Spanish Quack Doctor who is limp and submissive
to his wife, Doña Victorina. CHAPTER 42
• Teniente Guevara - a close friend of Don Rafael Ibarra. He reveals to
Crisóstomo how Don Rafael Ibarra's death came about.
• Alfonso Linares – A distant nephew of Tiburcio de Espanada, the would-be
fiancé of María Clara. Although he presented himself as a practitioner of law, it
was later revealed that he, just like Don Tiburcio, is a fraud. He later died due
to given medications of Don Tiburcio.
• Tía Isabel - Capitán Tiago's cousin, who raised Maria Clara.
• Governor General (Gobernador Heneral) – Unnamed person in the novel, he is
the most powerful official in the Philippines.
He has great disdains against the friars and corrupt officials, and sympathizes
Ibarra.
• Don Filipo Lino – vice mayor of the town of San Diego, leader of the
liberals.
• Padre Manuel Martín - he is the linguistic curate of a nearby town, who
says the sermon during San Diego's fiesta.
• Don Rafael Ibarra - father of Crisóstomo Ibarra. Though he is the richest
man in San Diego, he is also the most virtuous and generous.
• Dona Pía Alba - wife of Capitan Tiago and mother of María Clara. She
died giving birth to her. In reality, she was raped by Dámaso so she
could bear a child.
 Non-recurring characters

These characters were mentioned in the novel, appeared once, mentioned many
times or have no major contribution to the storyline.
• Don Pedro Eibarramendia - the great-grandfather of Crisóstomo Ibarra who
came from the Basque area of Spain. He started the misfortunes of Elias'
family.
His descendants abbreviated their surname to Ibarra. He died of unknown
reasons, but was seen as a decaying corpse on a Balite Tree.
• Don Saturnino Ibarra - the son of Don Pedro, father of Don Rafael and
grandfather of Crisóstomo Ibarra. He was the one who developed the town
of San Diego. He was described as a cruel man but was very clever.
• Salomé - Elías' sweetheart. She lives in a little house by the lake, and though
Elías would like to marry her, he tells her that it would do her or their
children no good to be related to a fugitive like himself.
• Sinang - Maria Clara's friend. Because Crisóstomo Ibarra offered half of the
school he was building to Sinang, he gained Capitan Basilio's support.
• Iday, Andeng and Victoria - Maria Clara's other friends.
• Capitán Basilio - Sinang's father, leader of the conservatives.
• Pedro – the abusive husband of Sisa who loves cockfighting.
• Tandáng Pablo – The leader of the tulisanes (bandits), whose family was
destroyed because of the Spaniards.
• El hombre amarillo (apparently means "yellowish person", named as Taong
Madilaw) - One of Crisostomo Ibarra's would-be assassins. He is not named in
the novel, and only described as such. In the novel, he carved the cornerstone for
Ibarra's school. Instead of killing Ibarra, he was killed by his cornerstone.
• Lucas - the brother of the taong madilaw. He planned a revolution against the
government with Ibarra as the leader after he was turned down by Ibarra. He
was said to have a scar on his left cheek. He would later be killed by the Sakristan
Mayor.
• Bruno and Tarsilo – a pair of brothers whose father was killed by the Spaniards.
• Ñor Juan (Ñol Juan) - appointed as foreman of the school to be built
by Ibarra
• Capitana Tika - Sinang's mother and wife of Capitan Basilio.
• Albino - a former seminarian who joined the picnic with Ibarra and
María Clara. Was later captured during the revolution.
• Capitana María Elena - a nationalist woman who defends Ibarra of
the memory of his father.
• Capitán Tinong and Capitán Valentín - other known people from the
town of San Diego.
• Sacristán Mayor - The one who governs the altar boys and killed
Crispín for his accusation.
Plot
• The plot revolves around Crisostomo Ibarra, mixed-race heir of a wealthy
clan, returning home after seven years in Europe and filled with ideas on
how to better the lot of his countrymen. Striving for reforms, he is
confronted by an abusive ecclesiastical hierarchy and a Spanish civil
administration by turns indifferent and cruel.
• The death of Ibarra’s father, Don Rafael, prior to his homecoming, and the
refusal of a Catholic burial by Padre Damaso, the parish priest, provokes
Ibarra into hitting the priest, for which Ibarra is excommunicated. The decree
is rescinded, however, when the governor general intervenes.
• The friar and his successor, Padre Salvi, embody the rotten state of the clergy.
Their tangled feelings—one paternal, the other carnal—for Maria Clara,
Ibarra’s sweetheart and rich Capitan Tiago’s beautiful daughter, steel their
determination to spoil Ibarra’s plans for a school.
• The town philosopher Tasyo amusingly notes similar past attempts have
failed, and his sage commentary makes clear that all colonial masters fear
that an enlightened people will throw off the yoke of oppression.
• Using satire brilliantly, Rizal creates other memorable characters whose
lives manifest the poisonous effects of religious and colonial oppression.
• Capitan Tiago; the social climber Doña Victorina de Espadaña and her
toothless Spanish husband;
• the Guardia Civil head and his harridan of a wife; the sorority of devout
women;
• the disaffected peasants forced to become outlaws:
in sum, a microcosm of Philippine society.
• In the afflictions that plague them, Rizal paints a harrowing picture of his
beloved but suffering country in a work that speaks eloquently not just to
Filipinos but to all who have endured or witnessed oppression.
Point of conflict
• Ibarra debates with the mysterious Elias, with whose life his is intertwined.
The privileged Ibarra favors peaceful means, while Elias, who has suffered
injustice at the hands of the authorities, believes violence is the only option.
• Ibarra’s enemies, particularly Salvi, implicate him in a fake insurrection,
though the evidence against him is weak. Then Maria Clara betrays him to
protect a dark family secret, public exposure of which would be ruinous.
Ibarra escapes from prison with Elias’s help and confronts her.
• She explains why, Ibarra forgives her, and he and Elias flee to the lake. But
chased by the Guardia Civil, one dies while the other survives.
• Convinced Ibarra’s dead, Maria Clara enters the nunnery, refusing a marriage
arranged by Padre Damaso. Her unhappy fate and that of the more
memorable Sisa, driven mad by the fate of her sons, symbolize the country’s
condition, at once beautiful and miserable.
Crisostomo Ibarra
• As the protagonist of the novel, Crisostomo Ibarra is the
character in whose character the main conflict
resides. It is easy enough to identify the external
conflicts:
Ibarra versus the society of his time -- its values and its
prejudices;
Ibarra versus Father Damaso and, indirectly, with the
other friars;
Ibarra versus Kapitan Tiago whose very strong sense of
self-preservation puts him in direct conflict with the love
between Maria Clara and Ibarra.
Maria Clara

• Maria Clara did not really resolve the conflicts within her; she
chose to escape, by entering the convent as a nun.
• Rightly or wrongly, Maria Clara has been held as the ideal
Filipina which, perhaps, is the reason why many Filipinas
prefer to be or pretend to prefer being a Maria Clara type
with all its dubious virtues.
• Many had used the convent as an escape from a world that
could not give them happiness or the fulfilment they crave.
Other Conflicts

• Other conflicts, mostly internal reside in other characters

such as Sisa, Doña Victorina, Doña Consolacion, and
Elias. However, the more internal conflict within Ibarra is
the more interesting one, as it expresses the dilemma of
present-day Filipinos: the conflict between traditional
values and one’s personal values that had been developed
through time.
El Filibusterismo
 El Filibusterismo

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the discussion, the learner should be able to:

• Compare and Contrast the characters, plot, and theme of Noli and El Fili

• Recognize role of the novel in influencing the Filipino people to awaken their desire for
revolt against their Spanish oppressors (coupled with Noli Me Tangere)

• Value the role of the youth in the development and future of society
 El
Filibusterismo
The Three Faces of Evil

1. Institutional Evil = evil due to unjust social

structures.
2. Personal Evil = due personally to personal traits and
actions, although also influenced and rendered
more harmful by unjust social structures.
3. Evil as Means for a Noble End = this is the use of
evil means by an originally good person to
accomplish objectives that in themselves are good.
Institutional Evil
• The Tragedy of Cabesang Tales
- The system of land tenure is the chief among
the unjust structures, whereby enormous tracts of
land were assigned by the colonial power to
individuals or corporations, depriving the people of
ownership of the land, and making them perpetually
dependent as “tenants” of the nominal landowner.
• The Eviction from Calamba
- “Take heart, men of Calamba! Your name is not
Tales. You have committed no crime.”
Personal Evil
• A person is bad, not primarily because of his
affiliation or because of the institution. He/she is
bad because he/she is personally bad.

Eg. That friar who conducts the physics class in such a wretched
manner (Chapter 13) is a Dominican; he is not evil because he is a
Dominican, for Rizal himself depicts a good Dominican in the book,
Fr. Fernandez.

Similarly, the Fray Camorra who destroys the life of the girl Juliana
(Juli), among others, is not bad because he is a Franciscan friar. He
is personally an evil man, a disgrace to his order, to his nation, and
to the Catholic priesthood.
Nevertheless, these personally evil men could not have
done so much harm had they not been put in positions of
power and protected by privilege and wealth.

Therefore, even in their personal badness, there is also an

element of institutional evil resulting from unjust
structures.
Simoun tells the story of his life to Padre Florentino

He is the Filipino secular priest, whom

Jose Rizal used as his mouthpiece in the
Who is Padre novel.
Florentino? He was mentioned only in the first and
last scenes of the novel.
Padre Florentino’s Dialogue with Simoun:

The salvation of a country cannot be achieved by using the

very means used to destroy it.

You have believed that what has been stained and

depraved by crime can be purified by another crime.
HOW MISTAKEN YOU ARE!
Hate can produce nothing but monsters.
Crime begets criminals.

Only love can produce marvelous

results.
If our country is ever to be free, it will not be through vice and crime, corrupting
his sons, deceiving some, bribing others.
No!

Redemption requires virtue, virtue requires

sacrifice, and sacrifice, love.
What was unattainable for others, Jose Rizal attained himself.
The Challenge:
Where are the youth who will
consecrate their most precious hours,
their ambitions and enthusiasms, for
the welfare of the country?
 GED0049
LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL
 MODULE 5: Subtopic 4

Letter to the Women of Malolos, On

the Indolence of the Filipinos, and
The Philippines: A Century Hence
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Assess Rizal’s writings

2. Appraise the value of understanding the past
3. Describe the emotional factors on why Rizal wrote these
pieces

Life and Works of Rizal

• Ika-17 ng Pebrero 1889 nang isulat ni Jose Rizal – gamit ang
wikang Tagalog – ang liham na ito.

• Ika-12 ng Disyembre 1888 nang may 20 kadalagahan ng Malolos

ang naghain ng petisyon kay Gobernador-Heneral Weyler upang
magtayo ng isang "panggabing paaralan." Layunin nila na mag-
aral ng wikang Español sa ilalim ni Teodoro Sandiko, isang
propesor sa Latin.
• Hindi sinang-ayunan ni Padre Felipe Garcia, ang kura paroko, ang
petisyon. Naging dahilan ito upang hindi rin pumayag ang
gobernador-heneral na maitatag ang paaralan.

• Patuloy silang nanawagan at nang lumaon, pumayag na rin ang

pamahalaan na maitatag ang paaralan, bagama't tumagal lamang
ito ng tatlong buwan. Si Señora Guadalupe Reyes ang nagsilbing
guro ng mga kadalagahan.
• Sa paghatol ni Rizal, lubhang napakabigat ng katungkulan
ng ina. Di maikakala na kapwa magulang ay” binigyan ng
Dios.. ng sariling loob upang ding magpakilala ang liko at
tapat”

• Sang-ayon si Rizal sa pananagutan ng ina sa mga bagay

sa tahanan, sa pag-aalaga sa bata at pangangasiwa ng
mga domestikong Suliranin.

(San Juan, 2015)

• In Indolence, Rizal showed keen economic sense,
particularly in examining economics and geography, and
economics and institutions.
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/12/26/419978/the-relevance-of-rizals-indolence-of-the-filipino/
• In this essay, Rizal studied the Filipinos’ predisposition to
indolence “thoroughly, without superciliousness or
sensitiveness.” Instead of dismissing Filipino indolence
outright, Rizal wrote, “we believe that indolence does
exist there. The Filipinos, who can measure up with the
most active peoples in the world, will doubtless not
repudiate this admission, for it is true that there one
works and struggles against the climate, against nature
and against men.”
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/12/26/419978/the-relevance-of-rizals-indolence-of-the-filipino/
• Rizal criticized those who exaggerated the role of
indolence. “The evil is not that indolence exists
more or less latently but that it is fostered and
magnified.” Moreover, he emphasized that
indolence was a manifestation, not a cause, of
Philippine backwardness.
• https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/12/26/419978/the-relevance-of-rizals-indolence-of-the-
filipino/
Rizal discussed the causes of such indolence:

• The wars, piracy and internal disorders, resulting in

the “frightful diminution of inhabitants” and the
abandonment of agriculture, industry and commerce.
• The tributaries or abusive taxes and forced labor.
• The maldistribution of the gains from the galleon
trade and the iniquity of the encomienda system.
• https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/12/26/419978/the-relevance-of-rizals-indolence-of-the-
filipino/
Rizal discussed the causes of such indolence:

• The failure to provide essential public goods like

justice and peace and order.
• The bureaucratic corruption and inefficiency.
• The toleration, even encouragement, of vice (e.g.,
gambling), profligacy, and obscurantism.
• The discrimination of the indios and the denial of
individual liberty.
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/12/26/419978/the-relevance-of-rizals-indolence-of-the-filipino/
Rizal said that these causes can be reduced to two classes,
namely “defects of training and lack of national sentiment.”

Rizal asked: “How is it that the Filipino people, so fond of its

customs as to border on routine, has given up its ancient
habits of work, of trade, of navigation, etc., even to the extent
of completely forgetting its past?”
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/12/26/419978/the-relevance-of-rizals-indolence-of-the-filipino/
Spain’s implementation of her military
This essay, published in
policies – because of such laws, the
La Solidaridad starts by
Philippine population decreased
analyzing the various
dramatically. Poverty became more
causes of the miseries
rampant than ever, and farmlands were
left to wither. The family as a unit of suffered by the Filipino
people
society was neglected, and overall,
every aspect of the life of the Filipino
was retarded
Deterioration and disappearance of
Filipino indigenous culture – when
Spain came with the sword and the This essay, published in
cross, it began the gradual destruction La Solidaridad starts by
of the native Philippine analyzing the various
culture. Because of this, the Filipinos causes of the miseries
started losing confidence in their past suffered by the Filipino
and their heritage, became doubtful of people
their present lifestyle, and eventually
lost hope in the future and the
preservation of their race.
Passivity and submissiveness to the
Spanish colonizers – one of the most
powerful forces that influenced a culture
of silence among the natives were the
Spanish friars. Because of the use of
force, the Filipinos learned to submit
themselves to the will of the foreigners.
This essay, published in
La Solidaridad starts by
analyzing the various
causes of the miseries
suffered by the Filipino
people
The question then arises as to what had awakened the hearts and
opened the minds of the Filipino people with regards to their
plight. Eventually, the natives realized that such oppression in their
society by foreign colonizers must no longer be tolerated.
1. Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant had failed. National consciousness had still
awakened, and great Filipino minds still emerged from the rubble.

2. Keeping he people impoverished also came to no avail. On the contrary, living a life of
eternal destitution had allowed the Filipinos to act on the desire for a change in their way of
life. They began to explore other horizons through which they could move towards
progress.

3. Exterminating the people as an alternative to hindering progress did not work either. The
Filipino race was able to survive amidst wars and famine, and became even more numerous
after such catastrophes. To wipe out the nation altogether would require the sacrifice of
thousands of Spanish soldiers, and this is something Spain would not allow.
Spain, therefore, had no means to stop the progress of the
country. What she needs to do is to change her colonial policies
so that they are in keeping with the needs of the Philippine society
and to the rising nationalism of the people.