the

NOLI ME
TANGERE
and
EL
FILIBUSTER
 NOLI ME TANGERE
THE UNCLE TOM’S CABIN, a book written by Harriet
Beecher Stowe which portrays the brutalities of American
slave-owners and the pathetic conditions of the unfortunate
Negro slaves inspired Rizal to prepare a novel that would
depict the miseries of the Filipino under the lash of
Spanish tyrants. Rizal was then a medical student
at the Universidad Central de Madrid.

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 THE TITLE OF THE
NOLI ME TANGERE
Noli Me Tangere, which means “Touch Me Not” , was taken
from the bible, particularly the Gospel of St. John ( Chapter 20,
Verses 13 to 28). According to St. John, on the first Easter
Sunday, St. Mary Magdalene visited the Holy Sepulcher, and to
her Our Lord Jesus, Just risen from the dead said: “Touch me
Not”, I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my
brethren and say unto them. I ascend unto my Father and
Your Father; and my God and your God,”

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 PUBLICATIONS OF
NOLI ME TANGERE
-Rizal finished the novel in December 1886

-Viola Financed Printing. Viola gladly agreed to finance the printing

cost of the Noli. He also loaned some cash money for the living
expenses.

-Noli came off the press on March 21, 1887. First copies of the printed
novel were sent to Rizal’s intimate friends like Blumentritt, Dr. Antoni
Ma. Regidor, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Mariano Ponce and Felix R.
Hidalgo.

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 Important
Characters in
the Noli
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 1Crisostomo Ibarra
- only descendant of the wealthy Spaniard
Don Rafael Ibarra.
- spent seven years studying in Europe.
- Maria Clara’s fiancé.
 Maria
2 Clara
- She is the daughter of Capitan Tiago and Dona Pia Alba.
- Known to be Ibarra’s lover since childhood.
- An illegitimate daughter of Father Damaso.
 Padre
3 Damaso
- Franciscan friars.
- Described to be snobbish, ruthless and judgemental
extrovert.
- There are also issue that he and Donya Pia had a relationship
and also revealed that he is the biological father of Maria
Clara.
 Kapitan
4 Tiago
- Filipino business man and a Cabeza de Barangay.
- A known father of Maria Clara.
 Pilosopo
5 Tasyo
- One of the most important charters in Noli.
- His ideas were against the thinking of the majority,
he was considered the Imbecile Tacio (or Tasyong Sinto-
sinto) or Lunatic Tacio (Tasyong Baliw).
 6 Elias
- Ibarra’s mysterious friend and ally.
- He wants to revolutionized the country and to be free in
Spaniards.
 Dona
7 Victorina
- An ambitious Filipina who pretended to be a meztisa.
 Dona
8 Consolacion
- Once a laundry woman who worked for the town Alferez.
- She became wealthy after marrying a Spanish husband .
 9 Sisa
- Married to the man named Pedro and the mother of Basilio
and Crispin.
 crispin &
10 basilio
- Crispin (7 yrs. old) an altar boy, he was unjustly accused of
stealing money from the church.
- Basilio (10 yrs. old) an acolyte tasked to ring the bell for
Angelus. He will later play a major role in El Fili.
 Conditions and Problems of the
Philippine Society in the 19th Century as
Portrayed Through the Noli Me Tangere
The novel conveyed the plight of the vanquished and the pathetic
suffering of the Filipinos from the hands of the abusive colonizers.

The Noli was perceived by Rizal as a reflective of the spirit of the

social moral, and political life of his time because it clearly showed
mankind under severe ordeal, mankind unredeemed and reason
and aspiration in an open struggle with fanaticism and injustice.
Rizal wrote a novel depicting the country to be redeemed from
bondage and repression.

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 Publications of el
filibusterismo
After Rizal arrived in Ghent, Belgium, he searched for printing press with
the lowest cost for the publication of his El Fili. The F. Meyer van Loo
Press charged the lowest fee and was willing to print book on installment
basis. To pay the down payment, Rizal pawned his jewels. While the
printing was ongoing, Rizal was desperate because his funds were running
low. The money he received from Basa and Php 200.00 from Rodriguez
Arias were also used up and much more was needed to pay the printing
press.

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 Publications of el
filibusterismo
The printing had to be suspended because he could no longer give the needed amount, in a
moment of despair, he almost hurled the manuscript into flames, just as he almost did to Noli
in Berlin.

An unexpected help came from Valentin Ventura in Paris who learned of Rizal's predicament.
When Ventura sent him the necessary funds, the printing of the book was resumed.

Printing of the Fili was Completed. On September 18, 1891, El Filibusterismo came off the
press. Now, Rizal was a happy man.

Rizal dedicated the novel to Gom-Bur-Za because of their martyrdom.

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 Comparison of Noli and
Fili
1. The Noli is a romantic novel. It has freshness, color, humor,
lightness, and wit.

2. The Fili is a political novel. It contains bitterness, hatred, pain,

violence, and sorrow. In short, Noli is a "book of the heart
while Fili is a "book of the head"

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 Comparison of Noli and
Fili
3. Originally, Rizal intended to make the Fili longer than the Noli but
it became shorter than the Noli because there were parts that were
drastically cut due to lack of printing funds. Fili consists only of 38
chapters as against the Noli's 64 chapters.

4. Marcelo H. del Pilar and Rizal himself considered the Noli as

superior to the Fili as a novel.

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 Comparison of Noli and
Fili
5. Retana, Rizal's first biographer believed that that the Noli is
superior to Fili whereas Blumentritt, Graciano Lopez Jaena and Dr.
Rafael Palma claimed that the Fili is superior to Noli.

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 Comparison of Noli and
Fili
In fact, Jaena wrote Rizal in October 2, 1891 to write another novel
which would give a definite solution to the country's problem.

Both novels are instrumental in awakening the spirit of Filipino

nationalism, Both novels also paved the way for the Philippine
revolution that brought about the downfall of the Spanish rule in the
Philippines

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THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING !!!

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