TRIMEX COLLEGES INC.

Poblacion City of Bińan, Laguna

IT GE 9 SUN (1:00 PM – 3:00 PM)

Submitted to: Prof. Ernesto Caberte

Submitted by: Mar Vic Q. Gabarda

Individual Activity No.2 - Summary / Synopsis of Noli Me Tangere & El

Filibusterismo

1. Write a summary/synopsis of Noli Me Tangere & El Filibusterismo.

2. It is composed of three paragraphs - an introduction, body, and conclusion.

" Noli Me Tangere & El Filibusterismo"

Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo are the two marked novels of our national hero,
Dr. Jose Rizal which are similar and different in some ways. The two novels are similar primarily
in their author, Rizal. Another, in a way that they both talk about how spaniards abused the
filipinos, the abuse of the church of their power and the discrimination on filipinos. Both noli
and El fili shows strong anti-clerical and even anti-catholic color. They convey one story because
the latter is published in sequel or continuation. However, they are different in many cases.
First, Noli Me Tangere, Latin title meaning "touch me not" refers to the letter of John 20:17 in
King James version of the Bible as Mary Magdalene tried to touch the newly risen Jesus, He said
"Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father". Meanwhile, El Filibusterismo is
Spanish title which is known in English as The Reign of Greed. Noli is a love story or a romantic
novel, dedicated to our motherland while El Fili is a political novel associated with revenge and
anger and is dedicated to GOMBURZA.
 The first is more on action and motion, the latter is thoughtful, discursive and dialectal.
Noli showed a softspoken, patient, compassionate and idealistic Crisostomo Ibarra while El Fili
featured a different Ibarra who portrayed the angry and vengeful side of him and disguised
himself as the wealthy jeweller named Simoun Noli is written in the idea that would expose the
ills of Philippine society after Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin In general Noli is more
on the reformist side of Rizal while El Fili is on his revolutionist. Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me
Not) is not merely an attack on the Spanish colonial regime. It is a charter nationalism. It calls
on the Filipino to recover his self-confidence, to appreciate his own worth, to return to the
heritage of his ancestors, to assert himself as the equal of the Spaniard. It is a romantic novel,
book of feeling, work of the heart, and contains freshness, color, humor, lightness and wit
despite that it depicts the sufferings of the Filipino people under the Spanish rule. El
Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed was written in dedication of the three martyred priests
namely Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora popularly known as GOMBURZA,
whose tragic execution left unforgettable imprint in his mind. It is a political novel, book of the
thought, work of the head and comprise bitterness, hatred, pain, sorrow and violence. Like Noli
Me Tangere, El Fili aims at enlightening the society, and at bringing the Filipinos closer to the
truth. In this novel, the society is urged to open its eyes to reality and rebel against the Spanish
government for its oppression and abuse.

These two novels helped awaken the Filipinos to fought for their freedom and stand
with their right. It had made me realized that war does not necessarily have to end through
means of violence, it could always be ended peacefully through words and maybe even
forgiveness. Words are far stronger than any gun Vengeance is not ours, it's God. Evilness is at
every comer but thou shall not fear because good will always prevail.