Kharen D.

Domil December 15, 2020

BEED4-A RIZAL

COMPARISON OF NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL ELFILIBUSTERISMO

The Philippine history is not complete without the masterpieces of the country’s national
hero, José Protacio Rizal Mercado Alonso Y Realonda or simply known as, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. The
life and legacy of the Filipino polymath are always included in the education of every student
during their elementary, high school, and evencollege years. Jose Rizal’s nationalism and urge
for independence were the driving force for him to compose histwo famous novels, Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Despite the state’s lack of weapons such as cannons and guns,
his works brought inspiration and confidence to initiate revolution and fight the
Spaniards.Unfortunately, triumph was far from reality as Dr. Jose P. Rizal was exiled because his
works were evidence of rebellion.

Noli metangere 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. Firstly Noli Metangere, 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 sofspoken, 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 and El Filibusterismo have similarities in
terms of aim and purpose. Both aim to enlighten the Filipinos on what is happening in the
country. They want the people to fight for their country and have the total freedom.These two
novels helped awaken the Filipinos to fought for their freedom and stand with their right. It had
made us 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 corner but thou shall
not fear because good will always prevail.

The two novels served as a mirror of the Filipino society. The long years of colonization,
oppression, and evencorruption.He wrote the novels to defend Filipino people from the wrong
accusations stating the they lack of knowledge, to show how the state of every Filipino as they
suffer from the abuse of the Spanish government, toshow how religion should be approached
and its importance to their everyday lives and to uncover the severity of the damage that
cruelty and corruption brought by the false government which also lead to further failures.
Thenovels ignited a fire inside every Filipinos to discover their identities and find their
confidence to defend thecountry in times of hardship, to unite and lastly, not to leave the
words of Rizal only in written in books to live with it and put it in action.