COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL

FILIBUSTERISMO

Our national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, wrote two magnificent books: Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo. Noli Me Tangere was a Latin term that meant "Touch Me Not" while El
Filibusterismo was derived from the word "filibustero," which means "one who opposes the
Roman Catholic Church." The former is a societal novel, while the latter is a political one.

These two novels dive further into understanding the internal and outside battles of a
nation, partitioned by a plenty of inspirations, convictions, philosophies, and moralities by using
almost real life characters. Written in a person based construction, featuring its plot as immediate
relationship during the Spanish pioneer rule, these books are loved as two of the most historical
and productive works of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

The two books follow the main character Crisostomo Ibarra, an educated and intelligent
Filipino that had studied in Europe and gotten back to the Philippines. He would later change his
personality into Simoun because he seeks for revenge and will fight against those that had wronged
him and his countrymen. Like Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo targets enlightening society,
and at bringing the Filipinos closer to the truth.

Noli Me Tangere was written in Madrid, Spain in 1884, continued in Paris, France, and
completed in Berlin, Germany in February 1887. Rizal, like Noli Me Tangere, composed El
Filibusterismo in a foreign country. He began writing it in 1890 in London, England, and finished
it in 1891 in Brussels, Belgium. Noli Me Tangere was dedicated to his Inang Bayan, the
Philippines, and was inspired by the Hariet Beecher Stowe's book "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which
described the suffering of Negro slaves under American harshness. He perceived a resemblance
between this and the oppression of the Filipinos under the control of the Spaniards. El
Filibusterismo, on the other hand, was dedicated to the "Three Martyrs," GomBurZa – Fr. Mariano
Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, and Fr. Jacinto Zamora. The three martyrs, according to Rizal, were just
victims of brutality and injustice. In January 1872, they were accused of being the leader of the
Cavite Mutiny and convicted by garote in February of the same year.

Dr. Maximo Viola assisted in the publication of Noli Me Tangere in March 1887 at
Imprenta Lette in Berlin, Germany. Rizal gave him the original manuscript and the plume he used
to write this novel as a token of his gratitude. El Filibusterismo, on the other hand, was initially
published in Ghent, Belgium. Rizal, like Noli Me Tangere, ran into financial difficulties, which
forced him to halt the publication of El Filibusterismo. But happily, someone stepped in to assist
our national hero once more. The publication resumed with the assistance of Dr. Valentin Ventura
and was completed in September 1891. Like in Noli, Rizal gifted him with the original manuscript
of the novel along with an autographed copy of the book as a symbol of his appreciation.

In terms of goal and purpose, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are identical – both
have the goal of informing Filipinos about what is going on in their own country. Rizal wished for
the people to struggle for their nation and to live in complete liberty. Both works dealt with the
maltreatment of Filipinos by Spaniards, as well as the church's abuse of authority and
discrimination against Filipinos.

The two novels have their own uniqueness in terms of characters, setting, use of words,
and many more, since these are works of our very intelligent national hero. Even if the novels have
some similarities and differences, let us always remember that Dr. Jose Rizal's goal in writing
these is to enlighten the Filipino minds about what is really happening and most importantly
bringing independence to our beloved country, Philippines.

REFERENCES

Comparison and contrast. CRITICAL THINKING AND WRITING. (n.d.). Retrieved December
1, 2021, from https://jhuvertpoblete.weebly.com/comparison-and-contrast.html.

Comparison of Noli Metangere and El filibusterismo example. GraduateWay. (2021, July 16).
Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://graduateway.com/comparison-of-noli-
metangere-and-el-filibusterismo/.

Paciente, D. R. (2020, March 17). Dr. Jose Rizal's "The social cancer" and "Reign of greed".
Owlcation. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://owlcation.com/humanities/noli-me-
tangere-and-el-
filibusterismo#:~:text=%22Noli%20Me%20Tangere%22%20is%20translated,conditions%
2C%20views%2C%20beliefs%2C%20and.