Fonte, Mary Allyn L.

BSIT 3

Chapter 19
El Filibusterismo
Published in Ghent (1891)

Pre test
Identify the following:
1. The main male character of El Filibusterismo.
Crisóstomo Ibarra
2. The savior of the resumption of the Fili’s printing.
Valentin Ventura
3. The date where Fili comes off the press.
September 18, 1891
4. How much the price per copy of Fili when it became rare?
400 pesetas per copy
5. To save printing cost, what are the two features of the manuscript do not appear
in the printed book?
FOREWORD – appears just before the dedicatory page in the manuscript. It is for
the Filipino People and the Government and WARNING – found on the other side
of the dedication.

Assessment Tasks
1. The reasons why Rizal moved on to Ghent from Brussels.
Rizal left Brussels for Ghent, a famous university city in Belgium. His reasons
for moving to Ghent were (1) the cost of printing in Ghent was cheaper than in
Brussels and (2) to escape from the enticing attraction of Petite Suzzane.
2. Compare Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo in terms of theme.
Noli Me Tangere is a romantic novel, a work of heart and a book of feeling while El
Filibusterismo is a political novel, a work of the head and a book of the thought.
3. Compare and contrast Ibarra and Simoun as main characters of the two novels.
Noli Me Tangere showed a softspoken, patient, compassionate and idealistic
Crisostomo Ibarra while El Filibusterismo featured the angry and vengeful side of
him and disguised himself as the wealthy jeweller named Simoun.
4. Which is the superior novel, the Noli Me Tangere or the El Filibusterismo. Discuss
briefly.
In my opinion, El Filibusterismo is superior to Noli Me Tangere because it more
accurately captures the essence of the Filipino people, who love their nation even
if it means risking their life. In this book, Rizal's rebellious side is shown via a
number of shocking turn of events. In thus so, he agreed with M.H. del Pilar, who
voiced a similar perspective on September 22, 1891, four days after the publication
of the Fili. Rizal himself thought the Noli was a better novel than the Fili.