Lance Yves C.

Perin 4/21/22
GE 9(2018)-D (LEC) THE LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSE RIZAL

1. List down at least 5 significant achievements Rizal had in Hong Kong/Macau, Japan and US.
Hong Kong/ Macau

Hong Kong/ Macau

• Rizal studied Chinese life, language, drama, and customs
• Rizal witnessed the noisy celebration of the Chinese New Year which lasted from
February 11th to 13th.
• Went to Macau with Basa
• He also observed the boisterous Chinese theater, the marathon Lauriat party, which was
the longest meal in the world.
• In their stay in Macau, Rizal spent his days cultivating plants where many came from the
Philippines

Japan

• Rizal studied the Japanese language. He was able to speak within a few days.
• In Japan, Rizal studied the habits and customs of the Japanese people, drama, arts,
music, and judo.
• He conversed with a band that was playing a classical work of Strauss and was surprised
they were speaking Tagalog.
• Rizal met and fell in love with a Japanese girl by the name Seiko Usui.
• He and Perez Caballero became good friends and described him as a young, fine and an
excellent writer.

United States

• Dr. Rizal checked in at the Palace hotel which is considered a luxurious hotel in San
Francisco.
• Dr. Rizal did a lot of strolling around downtown San Francisco visiting places like The
Golden Gate, which is a short distance from the Palace hotel.
• Rizal embarked on a grand transcontinental trip across the US which ended on Sunday,
May 13.
• While traveling through Utah, Rizal noticed that in spite Mormonism being the
dominant religious order in the state, the cities are not thickly populated.
• Rizal observed that the state of Colorado has more trees than the three previous states
they traveled through. In Chicago, he noted that every tobacco shop has a statue of an
Indian.
2. Identify at least 3 challenges Rizal encountered in Hong Kong/ Macau, Japan and US.

Hong Kong/ Macau

• On his way to Hong Kong, Rizal was sad and got sick.
• It was speculated that Jose Veranda was ordered to spy on Rizal.

Japan

• Rizal did not speak the Japanese language and at first had a hard time communicating
with the locals.
• Rizal received an offer to stay at the Spanish ligation as a way to be monitored by the
Spanish government.
• He had to part ways with Seiko Usui or O-Sei-San.

United States

• Upon arrival, all passengers were not allowed to land. The American health authorities
placed the ship under quarantine due to a “cholera epidemic” but was actually due to
political motivations.
• Racial prejudice, for he saw the discriminatory treatment of the Chinese and the
Negroes by the white Americans.
• Inconsistencies in the principles of democracy and freedom, about which Americans
speak but do not act.

3. Compare Rizal's first and second homecoming.

Rizal’s first homecoming was a rather joyous occasion but still came with its risks. His life
was already threatened because his Noli Me Tangere caused uproar especially among the friars.
He resolved on coming home because one, is that he wants to operate his mother’s eyes; another
is that he wants to know how his novel affected the life of the Filipino. Upon his arrival in Manila
and his first homecoming, he came home with a happy heart for he was once again in Filipino soil.
His family welcomed him affectionately but was still wary of his safety. However, despite the
dangers surrounding Rizal, he was still able to establish a medical clinic and even opened his own
gymnasium.

If we compare Rizal's first and second homecomings in terms of risks and looming threats,
the second homecoming was far more dangerous. Rizal decided to return to Manila in May 1892.
He gave his friend Dr. Marques two sealed letters with the inscription "to be opened after my
death" for safekeeping. Rizal was convinced that the fight for Filipino freedom had entered a new
phase, and that it needed to be waged in the Philippines rather than in Spain. "The battlefield is
in the Philippines," he told his European counterparts, "and that is where we should meet... There
we will help one another, there we will suffer or triumph perhaps." Thus, the La Liga Filipina, a
secret organization, was established by Rizal on July 3, 1892.
 He went to Malacañang Palace on July 6 to meet with the Spanish governor general. The
governor general then handed him some printed leaflets (Pobres Frailes) that had allegedly been
discovered in Lucia's pillow cases. Rizal denied possessing the leaflets because they were
thoroughly searched upon their arrival from Hong Kong and found to be clean. Despite his denials
and persistent demands for an investigation, he was arrested and escorted to Fort Santiago.