Life and Works of Rizal

Noli Me Tangere
&
El Filibusterismo
GROUP 5
Members
01. Salic, Nurhidayah T.
02. Solisa, Chyrill Shaan
03. Soldevilla, Jose
04. Tapia, Angela
05. Trinos, Mat Miguelle
 NOLI ME TANGERE
The writing of Noli Me Tangere was primarily
inspired by Rizal’s reading of Harriet Beecher
Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The said book
shows the unfortunate condition of the African
American slaves under the cruel American
masters. Noli Me Tangere means “Touch Me
Not.” It is a Latin expression, which Rizal lifted
from the Bible, particularly the Gospel of St.
John, Chapter 20, Verses 13-17. The novel is
dedicated to the motherland. The theme of the
novel is the cry for reform in a nonviolent way.
It reveals the social cancer that has long
poisoned society.
 The story of Noli Me Tangere

In the town of San Diego, a rich man by the name of Rafael

Ibarra owned vast landholdings. He had a son named Crisostomo
Ibarra who traveled to Europe for his studies. Ibarra stayed in
Europe for seven years, and upon his return, Capitan Tiago, the
supposed father of his sweetheart Maria Clara, set a splendid
dinner as an acknowledgement of his arrival.
The banquet was held at Capitan Tiago’s residence at Calle
Analogue in Binondo, Manila. Present during the dinner were
some Spanish officials and the clergy headed by Father Damaso.
During that event, Ibarra heard from his trusted friend, Lieutenant Guevara,
about the distressing incident that happened to his father. While Crisostomo
was in another country, a tragic incident happened to his father. Don Rafael
had a confrontation with an arrogant Spanish tax collector who maltreated a
little boy. That incident led to the accidental death of the tax collector.
Consequently, Don Rafael was imprisoned and died in jail. Because of Don
Rafael’s defiance of the church rules, Father Damaso Verdolagas, the parish
priest of San Diego, refused to give the old Ibarra a Christian burial.
Crisostomo was irritated by the story and left the place. However, Ibarra
disregarded his plan for revenge and instead worked for the education of his
people. He proposed to build a town school as his present to Maria Clara.
Unknown to Ibarra, his enemies had conspired against him. If not for the
warning of Elias, a mysterious pilot whom Ibarra had rescued from death by
crocodile attack during an outing on the lake, Ibarra could have been killed
at the laying of the school’s cornerstone.
 The affair of Crisostomo and Maria Clara was so
perfectly developed but the marriage could not be
realized because of the strong opposition of Father
Damaso. The parish priest kept on insulting
Crisostomo's father. At a public dinner after the
school's founding ceremony, Ibarra almost killed
Father Damaso due to the insults the latter had
been uttering against Ibarra's father. However,
Ibarra was calmed down by Maria Clara. As a result,
Ibarra was excommunicated and forbidden to see
Maria Clara again. To put her away from Ibarra,
Maria Clara's marriage to Alfonso Linares was
arranged by Father Damaso.
 Rumors spread about Ibarra's recruitment of the distressed and
exploited for rebellion against the government. Father Bernardo Salvi,
who learned about the plot, immediately reported it to the alferez.
The uprising was aborted, and Ibarra, together with the young liberals
of the town, was pursued and incriminated for rebellion. To implicate
Ibarra in the planned uprising, the Spaniards blackmailed Maria Clara
by convincing her to surrender to Father Salvi and the authorities
some letters from Ibarra that expressed his suspicious allegiance to the
government.
Ibarra was found guilty but was helped by Elias to escape from jail.
At their last rendezvous, Maria Clara explained to Ibarra why she gave
his letters to Father Salvi. She did it in exchange for some letters from
Father Damaso, which Father Salvi had found in the parish house. It
was revealed in the letter that the real father of Maria Clara was
Father Damaso.
 Because Ibarra really loved Maria Clara, he immediately
forgave his sweetheart. After their brief meeting, Ibarra
fled with Elias up the river to the lake, but a patrolling
constabulary caught them in sight. There was a chase, and
one of was killed. It was not known who died in that
dreadful event. Later in the forest, a man who could
hardly catch his breath burying Ibarra's treasure at the
foot of his grandfather's burial place.
 Believing that Crisostomo was dead, Maria Clara planned to
run away to be one with her beloved Ibarra. She declined to
marry Linares. It made Father Damaso realize how much Maria
Clara loved Ibarra. Because of Father Damaso's fear that his
daughter would be married only to a native who did not have
rights and privileges, he intensely opposed the marriage of Ibarra
and Maria Clara and persecuted Ibarra's family instead. Finally,
Father Damaso agreed to send Maria Clara to the nunnery of
Poor Clares just to stop her from attempting suicide.
The convent's chaplain was Father Salvi, who was waiting for
his promotion as a prize for his role in suppressing the rebellion
in San Diego. The story ended with the sight of a beautiful
young nun standing on the ridge of the roof of the convent with
arms and he raised toward the sky as if praying to it.
 EL FILIBUSTERISMO
El Filibusterismo is the continuation of Noli
Me Tangere. It is dedicated to the memory of
the three Filipino martyr priests; Father
Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto
Zamora. El Filibusterismo is a political novel
that advocates hostility and revolution as
means to achieve reforms. However, it also
suggests that victory is not certain through a
hostile and rebellious struggle for change. It
serves as a warning for the possible
destruction of lives and property that may
result from an aggressive and harsh scheme.
 The story of El Filibusterismo

Crisostomo Ibarra actually survived the dramatic chase

at the open lake. After that incident, he left the
Philippines to look for more resources in other countries.
After thirteen years, Ibarra returned to the Philippines in
the person of Simoun, a jeweler passing for a British
Indian, a Portuguese, an American, a mulatto, the Brown
Cardinal, his Black Eminence, or the evil genius of the
Captain-General.
 Simoun returned with the new Captain-General under his
influence. Simoun's primary objective in coming back was to
bring down the government. Through his financial resources and
power, Simoun was able to manipulate the government to
expand corruption. He thought of it so that such economic
difficulty would push the people to take up arms against the
government. One of the most difficult problems that Simoun
faced was the lack of enthusiasm of the young native
intellectuals for the assimilation of the Filipinos into the Spanish
nation. They were more concerned with reforms such as the
establishment of an academy of the Spanish language under lay
control.
Another objective of Simoun was to take Maria Clara
away from the nunnery and to take vengeance for the
pain and destruction he suffered. To carry out his aim,
Simoun made two attempts, which became unsuccessful.
His first plan was to take control of Manila with the
help of disgruntled Filipino regiments and a group of
fugitives. But on the very eve of the uprising, Simoun
felt so wretched over the news of Maria Clara's death.
With too much heartache, he deserted his allies and
was almost killed by them. His second plan was the
application of the radical formula. At the wedding feast
of Paulita Gomez, the richest heiress of the city, all the
government officials and influential people, including
the friars of Manila, were expected to grace the
occasion.
 Simoun's strategy was to send a wedding gift, a lamp, which was
actually a bomb that would explode at a certain moment. The lamp would
be hung at the center of the house, and when the light of the lamp became
dimmer, someone would raise its wick, and the bomb would blow up.
Basilio, a young intellectual, was instructed by Simoun to take the said
lamp to the wedding banquet. On the night of the feast, Basilio met
Isagani, Paulita's rejected suitor. Basilio told Isagani of the plot, but instead
of staying away, the latter quickly went into the house and grabbed the
explosive lamp. He threw it into the river, and it exploded without causing
fatal damage. Because of the incident, Simoun was pursued by the
authorities. In the chase, Simoun was badly wounded. He took refuge in
the solitary mountain retreat of Father Florentino, a virtuous Filipino priest.
Before the authorities could capture Simoun, he expired. The priest got a
hold of the Simoun's treasure chest and threw it into the sea, where it
would not work misery, beget injustice, or provoke greed.
Thank you
for
listening!