DIVINE MERCY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC.

129 Jose P. Bautista St. Caloocan City 8361-1922 / 8366-6922 / 8710- 6567
Francisco, Rofea U. October 11, 2022

BSE - English 3A Prof. Albert Ablaza

Activity 2: Historical and Biographical Approach

Directions: Read the summary of Noli Me Tangere and based form it and from your own
memory, write a literary critique using the Historical and Biographical Approach.

Introduction

Literature is a mirror of our culture. This is one of the sayings that you will always hear, and it is
indeed correct because the novel, Noli Me Tangere, is one of the examples of literature that
shows us what happened before; it mirrored our culture.

Historical

Noli Me Tangere is Latin for "touch me not." The novel was written by José Rizal, the national
hero of the Philippines, and he completed Noli Me Tangere in Spanish in 1887. The story
unfolds an epic history of the Philippines that has made it that country's most influential political
novel. Noli Me Tangere depicts the sufferings of every Filipino at the hands of the Spanards
who invaded us. With the help of this novel, Filipinos were able to open their minds and eyes
and see that Spanish people were abusing them and failing to provide them with the equal
rights that they deserved within our country. This is one of the novels that became the strength
of the Filipinos to fight for their rights. In the novel, Filipinos are abused and treated badly, and it
shows that even before, there were two types of people: those who wanted fairness and those
who wanted revenge. Also, in the novel, a lot of people are already greedy and selfish. The way
it was written is very effective because it influenced the Filipinos. And, despite the fact that it
was written in Spanish, Jose Rizal was able to connect with the people because it was telling
the truth. When it was first published, the novel was banned because the Spanish, specifically
the friars, despised it for depicting reality and true events of that time. This novel is now being
studied in schools because it really has an impact on our culture and on the experiences of
Filipinos before. For the students to know that this kind of cruelty happened and was
experienced by our fellow Filipinos, and for the students and Filipinos in our time to realize the
importance of this kind of literature.
Biographical

Jose Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere because he saw that Spanish people, or the people who are
in God's service, are the ones making the lives of Filipinos living in hell. Jose Rizal wanted to do
something to put a stop to the Spaniards' bad behavior, and Jose Rizal is not the type of person
who fights war with a sword. Jose Rizal was intelligent enough to reveal the Spanish people,
and he did that with only the use of a pen. And because of his love for his country, he was able
to open the minds of every Filipino, and despite having traveled to various countries, he still
loved and returned to his birthplace. Just like the ordinary Filipinos, Jose Rizal also suffered at
the hands of the Spaniards. He sacrificed his life for revealing the truth and for us Filipinos to be
in a better place.

Conclusion

Now, I realized why literature is really important; it travels us to the past and shows us what kind
of life they had, and when I try to compare it, there's really a big difference. Because of this
novel, Noli Me Tangere, we will be able to reflect on how brave our Filipinos really are.