Name: Isabela, Chennie Kim C.

Instructor: Narciso Cabanilla

Course/Year/Section: BABR 1-1D

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Instruction: Discuss the following items thoroughly. Write the question before each answer. Each

answer should contain at least three (3) paragraphs of not less than four (4) sentences each. You

may write your answers in Filipino. Do not forget to write your full name in the upper left corner

of the paper and your course, year and section below it while the name of your professors should

be indicated in the upper right.

1. Explain the relationship between Rizal’s writings, Noli me Tangere, El Filibusterismo,

annotation of Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas and Filipinas Dentro deCinaños.

José Rizal was a Filipino writer, activist, doctor, and political martyr who lived from 1861 to

1896. The well-known Philippines national hero strongly believes that "the pen is mightier than

the sword." Rizal's down-to-earth work recalls the socioeconomic injustices and patriotic fervor

that defined the Philippines at the turn of the century. He showed strong opposition to the abuse

of Spaniards and sent messages that he hoped would encourage his fellow compatriots through his

literary achievements. Rizal’s' works like Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, Sucesos de las Islas

Filipinas, and Filipinas Dentro de Cinaos focused on the abolition of the Western Empire and the

reconstruction and reclaiming of Philippine independence.

Rizal's famous novel, Noli Me Tángere, is still one of the most sought-after books in Philippine

literature today (Touch Me Not). Rizal wrote the novel to expose the ills of Philippine society
during the Spanish colonial era, motivated by his deep devotion to his country. Because of the

novel's depiction of illegal acts, the Spaniards prohibited Filipinos from reading it at the time.

Rizal's other novel now regarded as a literary masterpiece is the sequel to his first book, Noli Me

Tángere. El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) is a novel with a dark theme (as opposed to the

first novel's hopeful atmosphere) that depicts the country's issues and how the protagonist attempts

a reform. Jose established the Philippine League to establish the country's first reform group and

gain independence from Spain. These two novels exposed the Spanish government's wrongdoings.

Furthermore, Rizal's intention in publishing his annotated version of de Morga's Sucesos de

las Islas Filipinas (Events of the Philippine Islands, first published in 1609) was to present the

Filipino people with their own authentic culture and identity, not just their pre-Spanish history.

His discovery of Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas was fortuitous. He had been rethinking the

Filipino not as a people equal to their Spanish colonizers, but as a people with a distinct civilization

that had been destroyed by colonization. Rizal discovered the solution to his problem in Morga's

book, which he decided to reprint with his annotations. He chose the Sucesos after reading most

of the literature on the Philippines because he "thought it important to evoke the testimony of an

illustrious Spaniard who ruled the fortunes of the Philippines at the dawn of her new period and

witnessed the final moments of our historic nationality." The Morga annotations planted the seeds

of how Filipinos should see themselves while growing nationalism, which eventually led to the

formation of a nation. "The Philippines a Century Thus" is an essay written by Philippine national

hero Jose Rizal to predict the country's fate in a hundred years. Aside from here is the Filipinas

Dentro de Cien anos (lit. "The Philippines a century hence") a socio-political essay written by José

Rizal and published in four parts in the magazine La Solidaridad in 1889-1890. It is one of the
most important political works of the movement in Spain with Rizal tracing the circumstances that

led to the awakening of the Filipino and, as a result, the emergence of the Filipino spirit of a nation.

All of Rizal's works were connected to one another which also shares the same concept.

That is to serve as an eye-opener to everyone especially to the Filipinos and wake up the sense of

nationalism within their heart to gain freedom for their homeland. José Rizal's life and works serve

as an inspiration to freedom fighters all over the world. Noli me Tangere depicts nonviolent reform,

whereas El Filibuster depicts revolutionary reform. Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, annotated by

Rizal Rizal believes that the Philippines could have grown into something magnificent on its own,

and in Filipinas Dentro de Cinanos, he predicted the Philippines destiny in a hundred years and

predicted the disastrous end of Spanish dominion in Asia which had successfully happened.

2. What are the major differences between Noli Me Tangere as compared to El

Filibusterismo? Elaborate your answer. How did the two novels affect the Filipino quests

for freedom?

Dr. Jose Rizal's two most famous novels are Noli Metangere and El Filibusterismo. The Social

Cancer, originally titled Noli Me Tangere, is a novel published in 1887 by Filipino political activist

and author José Rizal. El Filibusterismo is a sequel to Noli Me Tangere and José Rizal's second

and final novel (though he left an unfinished manuscript for a third one). In some ways, the two

novels are similar and different. In terms of goal and purpose, Noli Me Tangere and El

Filibusterismo are similar. Both seek to educate Filipinos about what is going on in the country.

They want people to fight for their country and have complete independence. Noli and El Fili are

both anti-clerical, if not anti-Catholic. They only transmit one story because the latter is presented

as a sequel or continuation.
 Noli Me Tangere is an excellent social novel. It is a Latin word meaning "Touch Me Not".

Rizal began writing it in Madrid, Spain in 1884, finished it in Paris, France, and published it in

Berlin, Germany in February 1887. Noli Me Tangere was written in honor of his Inang Bayan, the

Philippines. The history stated in Harriet Beecher Stowe's book "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which tells

of the suffering of Negro slaves under the cruelty of the Americans, inspired our hero. In the

writing of this book, he saw parallels between this and the cruelty endured by Filipinos under

Spanish rule. El Filibusterismo is another important work by our hero. It is derived from the word

"filibustero," which means a person opposed to Roman Catholicism. He began writing it in

London, England in 1890 and finished it in Brussels, Belgium in 1891. This was made in honor of

the "Three Martyrs," GomBurZa (Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, and Fr. Jacinto Zamora).

Despite their similarities, the two novels differ in many ways. To begin, Noli Me Tangere, a

Latin phrase that means, "touch me not," refers to the letter of John 20:17 in the King James

Version of the Bible, where, when Mary Magdalene tried to touch the newly risen Jesus, He said,

“Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father”. El Filibusterismo, on the other hand, is a

Spanish title that translates to "The Reign of Greed" in English. Noli is a love story or a romantic

novel dedicated to our motherland, whereas El Fili is a political novel dedicated to GOMBURZA

and associated with vengeance and anger. Noli is more focused on action and motion, while the

latter is more contemplative, discursive, and dialectical. It portrayed a soft-spoken, patient,

compassionate, and idealistic Crisostomo Ibarra, whereas El Fili portrayed an angry and vengeful

Ibarra who disguised himself as a wealthy jeweler named Simoun. After Harriet Beecher Stowe's

Uncle Tom's Cabin, Noli is written with the intention of exposing the ills of Philippine society. In

general, Noli is more on Rizal's reformist side, whereas El Fili is more on his revolutionary side.
 The differences and similarities of Jose Rizal's two great novels had a significant impact on

the Filipinos' quest for freedom. Both depict different aspects of achieving independence, with

Jose Rizal focusing on social climbers, abusive power, family devotion, self-sacrifice, purity, and

faithfulness. Rizal's range of vision, his concept of love of country, his appeal for reforms, his

attitude toward the friars, and his views on the Filipinos' weaknesses can be seen in his works, in

their ideas and ideals, or in their lack of these. Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo evidently

aims at enlightening the society, at bringing the Filipinos closer to achieving independence for

their homeland.
References:

Valdeavilla, Ronica. “The 8 Most Important Literary Works By Jose Rizal.” Culture Trip,

Theculturetrip.com, 28 April. 2018, https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-8-

most-important-literary-works-by-jose-rizal/.

"Comparison of Noli Metangere and El Filibusterismo." GraduateWay, 12 Oct 2016,

https://graduateway.com/comparison-of-noli-metangere-and-el-filibusterismo/

Simpson, Michael. “Comparison Of Noli And El Fli.” Personal Essay Writing: Comparison Of

Noli And El Fli, Personal-essay-writing.blogspot.com, 27 March. 2013, http://personal-essay-

writing.blogspot.com/2013/03/comparison-of-noli-and-el-fli.html.