WORSHEET 4

What is freedom? How is lack of freedom portrayed in the Noli me Tangere? Has
is the situation in the novel similar or different from today?

Freedom is the choice to live one's life doing what one wants, live where one
wants, eat by own choice, and learn what one's heart desires. This means that freedom
can apply to different aspects of life and freedom is not an absolute term. Lack of
freedom is portrayed in the novel of Noli me tangere through the word that Rizal wrote
about how Spaniards want to control us, and it was also included in the novel about the
slavery of the Spaniards to the Filipino's. Rizal therefore remains relevant to 21st
century Filipinos. Unfortunately, this also means that many of the social ills he fought
against continue to afflict Philippine society, more than a century after his martyrdom.
The unequal treatment of colonized nations is still the predominant feature of
neocolonialism, which is nothing but a rearrangement of old colonial ties. Foreign
powers, like the U.S., treat our archipelago as though it is its own backyard that needs
to be fortified from enemies, which explains the presence of American troops.

The novels reflect about Philippines and Philippine society during the Spanish
and the modern times. In my opinion, the novels really portray what Dr. Jose Rizal
wishes for Filipinos those times want to realize and his fears of what the country may
become. In Noli me Tangere, it portrays about the ills of the society which can be
observed not only during the Spanish times. In modern times, it could be observed by
the corrupt politicians and even church officials who can be related to the friars.

For me, this novel is an eye opener. Not really a masterpiece but it is something
you would read if you wished to reflect and learn from the past and learn about its effect
on the present. In Noli, we see the ills of society and how it affects and rot the people
and their souls. I hope that people in the future would learn about the mistakes of the
past through these books. Rizal may not have prevented the inevitable. But at least, we
the new generation would learn of its lessons and hope that we could do better as a
nation, instead of dividing ourselves.