El Filibusterismo

“The Reign of Greed”

Balasico, Cabrera, Igloso, Mercado,

Ramirez, Sugdan, Ybañez

October 2022
 Overview
Second book written by Jose Rizal as a
sequel of Noli Me Tangere.

• Consists of 38 chapters
• Originally written in Spanish.
• It was written on October 1887 while studying
medicine in Calamba.
• Later in 1888 in Paris, he made changes in the plot
and corrected some chapters.
• He completely finished the manuscript on March 21,
1891. He completed it for three years.
• Dedicated to GOMBURZA.

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 Filibusterism
o
Rizal’s letter to Blumentritt explaining the title:
“The word filibustero is little known in the Philippines.
The masses do not know it yet. I heard it for the first
time in 1872 when the tragic executions took place.I
still remember the panic that this word created.
Our father forbade us to utter it, as well as the word
Cavite, Burgos, etc. The Manila newspapers and the
Spaniards apply this word to one whom they want to
make a revolutionary suspect.“

El Filibusterismo
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 Overview
Second book written by Jose Rizal as a
sequel of Noli Me Tangere.

• Was almost not published due to lack of funds

• Published September 1891 in Ghent partially funded
by Valentin Ventura
• Written four years after Noli was written wherein
Rizal was experiencing a lot of frustrations in his
efforts for social reform, thus giving the book a
graver tone.

El Filibusterismo
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 • Bring Filipinos closer to truth
• Prove that liberation through bloodless means is better than
revolution

Purpose • To defend Filipino people from foreign accusations of

foolishness and lack of knowledge.
• To show how the Filipino people live during Spanish colonial
period and the cries and woes of his countrymen against
abusive officials.
ENLIGHTENMENT OF • To discuss what religion and belief can really do to everyday
SOCIETY lives.

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 Purpose
ISSUES EXPOSED IN EL FILIBUSTERISMO:

Need for Spanish Abuses of Corruption Pretentions Church

reform in tyranny the friars. of officials of social aquiring
education climbing immense
natives and political
Spaniards power

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SYNOPSIS
A sequel to Noli Me Tangere is called El Filibusterismo. The
Fili, as it is colloquially known, is a dark, brooding, occasionally
sarcastic novel about tragedy, unfulfilled love, and retribution
that still has Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra as its main character.
Thirteen years older, his idealistic and idealistic dreams crushed,
he assumes the identity of Simoun, a tremendously wealthy and
enigmatic jeweler who has won the trust of the governor-general
of the colony, in order to take advantage of the perception that he
passed away at the conclusion of Noli Me Tangere.

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Characters with Representation
NAME DESCRIPTION
Simoun Crisóstomo Ibarra reincarnated as
a wealthy jeweler, bent on starting
a revolution.
Basilio Has risen from poverty to become
Captain Tiago’s charge. Close to
acquiring his medical degree, he is
pledged to Julí, the beautiful
daughter of Cabesang Tales
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REPRESENTATION
Simoun represents the
revolutionaries during that
time who supported the idea of
holding bloody revolt against
the Spanish government. His
death in El Filibusterismo tells
readers that Rizal does not
support the armed revolution.
He represents the youth with a
simple dream that his
education will improve his
social and economic status in
the future and is indifferent
and selfish to the needs of
society.
Characters with Representation
NAME DESCRIPTION
Isagani Poet and Basilio's best friend;
portrayed as emotional and
reactive; Paulita Gómez' boyfriend
before being dumped for fellow
student Juanito Peláez.
Kabesang Tales Telesforo Juan de Dios, a former
cabeza de barangay who
resurfaced as the feared Luzón
bandit Matanglawin (Tagalog for
Hawkeye)
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REPRESENTATION
Isagani is the symbol of the
youth whose love for the
country is great to the point of
being branded as idealistic.
He personified a typical
Filipino who is content with
living a simple life. He also
symbolizes the natives and
farmers whose lands were
seized by the friars, an
explanation as to why Filipinos
became rebels.
Characters with Representation
NAME DESCRIPTION
Makaraig Makaraig shared the same
nationalistic ideals with that of
Isagani. The both of them led their
fellow students in the movement
for the establishment of the
Spanish academy for Filipinos. The
only difference between the two is
their social status.
Paulita Gomez The girlfriend of Isagani and the
niece of Doña Victorina. In the end,
she and Juanito Peláez are wed,
and she dumps Isagani, believing
that she will have no future if she
marries him.
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REPRESENTATION
Makaraig represented the well-
to-do Filipino youth during the
Spanish era who had good
dreams for the country. His
character also provided readers
a glimpse of how different the
rich and the poor were treated
during that time in society.
Paulita Gomez is a caricature
of a woman who chooses the
best option for a more stable
future. She knows what is best
for her and would take
advantage of her admirers to
get what she wants.
Characters with Representation
NAME DESCRIPTION
Padre Florentino Isagani's godfather, and a secular
priest; was engaged to be married,
but chose the priesthood instead,.
The story hinting at the
ambivalence of his decision as he
chooses an assignment to a remote
place, living in solitude near the
sea.
Juli Juliana de Dios, the girlfriend of
Basilio, and the youngest daughter
of Kabesang Tales
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REPRESENTATION
Father Florentino represented
the secular Filipino priests in
Rizal’s time. It was also
through his character that the
author stressed his disapproval
of a bloody revolt.
Juli, like Maria Clara,
symbolizes the purity and
innocence of the lower class
women during Rizal's time.
She would rather sacrifice
rather than give up her ideals.
Characters with Representation
NAME DESCRIPTION REPRESENTATION
Ben Zayb Abraham Ibañez is his real name. Personifies a corrupted media
He is a journalist who thinks he is
the only one thinking in the
Philippines.

Placido Penitente A student of the University of Placido means – silent and

Santo Tomas who is always Penitente means – suffering.
miserable, and therefore controls Combining those words,
his temper “silent suffering” or in tagalog
“tahimik na pagluluksa”.

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Characters with Representation
NAME DESCRIPTION
Señor Pasta He is an old Filipino lawyer who
refuses to help the Filipino
students in their clamor for
educational reforms.
Padre Irene He is a kind friar who is a friend of
the Filipino students. He supports
the students who appeal to the
government for an academy of
Spanish language.
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REPRESENTATION
He represents the part of the
society that is only generous
and sympathetic to the rich
and powerful.
He embodies the few
Spaniards who are sympathetic
to the Filipinos.
Comparison of the two novels of
Dr. Rizal
Noli Me Tangere El Filibusterismo
• Aspiration • Antipathy
• Beauty • Pain
• Romance • Violence
• Mercy • Sorrow
• Humor • Rebellion
• Idealism • Society is urged to open its eyes to reality
• Society is encouraged to ask and aspire for and rebel against the Spanish government
change and liberation for its oppression and abuse

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 El Filibusterismo serves as an inspiration to the

Significance Filipino people. It brings a profound effect on

Philippine society in terms of views about national
identity, the Catholic faith and its influence on
Filipino's choice, and the government's issues of
corruption, abuse, and discrimination, and on a larger
scale, the issues related to the effect of colonization on
people's lives and the cause for independence.
The book awakened the Filipinos in the past and is
still awakening the Filipinos of today, to fight for what
we believe is right. We may not be the victor always in
every battle but the most important is, we continue to
fight until our very last breath, just like Rizal.

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Divider Slide
El Filibusterismo was written about four years after
Noli Me Tangere. In it, Rizal reveals a more mature and less
hopeful outlook regarding the political and social situation
in the Philippines.
The frustrations he had experienced in his efforts toward
social reform in those years account for the book's graver
tone.
Rizal himself considered El Filibusterismoto be a better,
more profound novel than Noli Me Tangere.
His biographer, Retana, agrees that as a political novel, it is
superior.
Upon completing El Filibusterismo, Rizal wrote to
Blumentritt:
"I have not written in it any idea of vengeance against my
enemies, but only for the good of those who suffer, for the
rights of Tagalogs...."
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