Lesson 7:

Noli Me Tangere –
Content & Context

— AB ELS 3A
Group III
 Table of Contents

01.The Publication of Noli Me

Tangere
04. Noli and the Study of
Colonial Society

Motivations Behind the

02. Writing of Noli Me 05. Summary of Rizal’s Novel
Noli Me Tangere
Tangere

03. Noli Me Tangere after its

First Publication
01
The
Publication of
Noli Me
Tangere
- Asis, Janine Villanueva
 The Publication of Noli Me Tangere
● A novel of a Filipino Political Activist and author named Jose P.
Rizal written his first book Noli Me Tangere and published in
1887.

● Rizal participated in the movement of illustrados propaganda.

● Using his talent and ability, they collected articles,

commentary, and even created various creations. And his most
famous work is one of them.
 The Publication of Noli Me Tangere
● At a meeting of the illustrators in 1884, he was one of those
who suggested a group writing a book with other fellow writers.
But in the end it didn’t happen so he decided to write the novel
on his own.

● It was first written in 1884 and ended in 1887.

● Rizal was also influenced by his biographers in writing Noli.

● Rizal finished the first half of the novel in Spain, and the other
half was in France. The draft was then completed in 1886.
02
Motivation
Behind the
Writing of Noli
Me Tangere
- Castro, Carmela Joyce M.
 Motivation Behind the Writing of Noli Me Tangere

● The title, Noli Me Tangere, had Biblical reference to Gospel of

John in which Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene uttered these
words: "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father."
The choice of title according to Rizal was fitting because he
intended to write about themes that were taboo in the
Philippines for centuries; things that people dared not touch.

● Noli Me Tangere was also written to encouraged Filipinos to rise

for a revolution to fight for the freedom of the country and its
citizens from the hands of these mistreating Spaniards.
 A Mi Patria
Jose Rizal, 1886

In the annals of human adversity, there is etched a cancer, of a breed so malignant that the least
contact to my Motherland exacerbates it, and stirs in it the sharpest of pains. Thus, many times
amidst modern cultures I have wanted to evoke you, sometimes for memories of you to keep me
company, other times, to compare you with other nations-many times your beloved image appears
to me afflicted with a social cancer of similar malignancy.

Desiring your well-being, which is our own and searching for the best cure, I will do with you as the
ancients of old did with their afflicted, expose them on the steps of the temple so that each one
who would come to invoke the Divine would propose a cure for them.

And to this end, I will attempt to faithfully reproduce your condition without much ado. I will lift part
of the shroud that conceals your illness, sacrificing to the truth everything, even my own self-
respect, for, as your son, I also suffer in your defects and failings.
 Motivation Behind the Writing of Noli Me Tangere
Dedication:

A Mi Patria – To My Motherland
• This poem was a dedication written along the pages of the
writing Noli Me Tangere. Also, the writing Noli, as stated, was
geared towards exposing the ills of Philippine colonial society
under Spain. Thus, through the passages within the Noli,
readers also get glimpses of how Rizal saw his country.
 03
Noli Me
Tangere after
its First
Publication
- Hapin, Maria Nica
 Noli Me Tangere after its First Publication
● In the immediate months and years after its release in 1887,
the Noli generated reactions from readers, Filipinos and
foreigners alike. Responses ranged from praise to outright
ridicule. One sector that espoused utmost disdain for the novel
was the Spanish clergy as well as some Spanish colonial
officials.

● In 1887 when Fray Salvador Font, chair of the censorship

commission, outlawed the reading and possession of Rizal's
novel. Many other friars assessed and judged the book as
pernicious. They enjoined devout Catholics not to read the
 Noli Me Tangere after its First Publication
● One staunch critic of the novel was Spanish academic Vicente
Barrantes who wrote several articles in Spanish newspapers
ridiculing Rizal as a man of contradictions."

● As much as Rizal's critics came from various sectors, his novel

also found ardent defenders among his peers. Many of his
colleagues in the Propaganda Movement praised his novel. One
example is Marcelo H. del Pilar who even wrote essays in
response to critics of the Noli. Rizal's friend, Ferdinand
Blumentritt, also an academic, also expressed support for the
novel.
 Noli Me Tangere after its First Publication
● In the immediate years after its publication, the Noli was
translated into several languages. One of the earliest
translations of the novel was done in French. Many scholars
posit that there were early attempts to translate the novel into
German (by Blumentritt) and even Tagalog (by Rizal's brother,
Paciano) but these plans never came to fruition.

● As Tests De Ocampo points out, as much as the novel is

elevated in the highest echelons of Philippine literary history,
seldom do we find Filipinos reading it in the original Spanish.
 04
Noli and the
Study of
Colonial
Society
- Nasol , Lynette
 Noli and the Study of Colonial Society
● A remarkable aspect of Rizal's Noli lies in its text which expose
the national heroes’ articulations of a social-scientific view of
the nineteenth century Philippines.

● In Rizal's other writings, the Noli makes an important

contribution to the understanding of a colonial society and of
the workings of the Spanish empire in the Philippines.

● The novel portrayed the lives of the characters of diverse

positions from which people in nineteenth century Philippines
thought and acted in relation to others.
 Noli and the Study of Colonial Society
● Many scholars interpret the Noli as Rizal's diagnosis of the ills
of colonial society as he assessed the role played by the
church, the state, and the people.

● He also exposed the complexities and constraints wrought by

the colonial condition not only on foreigners, but also on some
misguided Filipinos that contributed to the ills of society.

● Rizal also emphasized the good qualities of e Filipinos, which

needed to be harnessed in order to succeed in the struggle for
emancipation.
05
Summary of
Rizal’s
Novel Noli
Me Tangere
 Summary of Rizal’s Novel Noli Me Tangere
The story of the Noli Me Tangere followed the life of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra after he
returned to the Philippines from studying in Europe. The novel opened with Capitan Tiago
preparing a homecoming gathering for the young ilustrados. Throughout the pages of the
novel, the characters could be seen navigating the complex realities of colonial
Philippines, Ibarra was shown to be rekindling links with his betrothed Maria Clara. But
not everything was fine and dandy for Ibarra. Upon his return, he learned about the ills
that plagued his town as well as the abuses of the friars to which his late father fell victim
to. Ibarra found an antagonist in Padre Damaso, the former curate of San Diego who
ordered that the corpse of his father be exhumed and reburied in the Chinese cemetery.

Despite these personal travails, Ibarra persevered to fulfil the plan of building a
school in San Diego, staying true to his belief at education was crucial for his nation's
progress. Ibarra almost Bor killed had it not for Elias, a boatman, who saved him. Elias o
previously cautioned Ibarra about his actions that could anger the friars. After the
incident, Ibarra organized a luncheon.
 Summary of Rizal’s Novel Noli Me Tangere

Here, another confrontation occurred between Ibarra, Damaso who attended the
luncheon uninvited. In a fit of anger, Ibarra took a knife against Damaso neck and
threatened slit his throat as he told everyone of the abuses committed Damaso and
the desecration he did to Ibarra's father. Maria Clara calmed Ibarra and prevented
him from killing the friar. Damaso, in an act of revenge, persuaded Capitan Tiago,
the father of Maria Clara, to not allow his daughter to marry Ibarra.

After some time, a revolt was blamed on Ibarra, which caused his incarceration.
With the help of Elias, he escaped and went to see Maria Clara who was soon
marrying the man her father chose for her. In a heart-breaking confrontation, Ibarra
and Maria Clara exchanged accusations and, in the process, it was revealed that
Damaso was the true father of Maria Clara.
 Summary of Rizal’s Novel Noli Me Tangere

As turmoil and confusion engulfed the town, Maria Clara thought Ibarra had
been killed. This caused her endless grief. She asked to be confined to a nunnery
lest she take her own life. It was later revealed that Ibarra was not dead and that
Elias was the one fatally shot. In the latter passages, the dying Elias was waiting
for Ibarra but instead, met and talked to the young Basilio. He instructed the
orphaned boy (his mother Sisa, who became insane looking for her young sons,
had died) to find the treasure of Ibarra buried in the cemetery and use it to get an
education. He reminded Basilio to never lose hope and if one day, freedom and
progress would come to his country to not forget those who labored in the night.
 Thank You 

Group 3
Asis, Janine Vallenueva
Castro, Carmela Joyce
Hapin, Maria Nica
Nasol, Lynette