NOLI ME TANGERE

Analysis of the novel

1. Cover / symbolisms
2. Dedication
3. The Theme
4. Preface
5. The characters and their
personification yesterday and
today
6. The plot
 READING APPROACHES

MIMESIS – a literary approach where a story

is viewed as a slice of life.
It interprets a literary piece in relation to
existing conditions.
 READING APPROACHES

Symptomatic Approach – a reading approach

where the message the author wants to convey is
inferred from clues found between the line of the
text, the implications of the allegorical symbols,
the intent of satirical expressions, simile or
metaphors or their combinations.
 READING APPROACHES

Utilitarian Reading – viewing a literary piece as

a socio-economic and political instrument to
expose the defects of a society and to be taken as
a call for reform or changes.
The Cover
The Cover

• The profile and

stature of a woman on
the left side of the
cover represent the
Motherland for whom
Rizal gave his life.
The Cover

The cross, whip and

the helmet - symbolize
the governing
authorities in the
Philippine soil.
The Cover

The friar's foot -

Tyranny
The whip, helmet
and chain - Spanish
abuses
The Cover

Bamboo - Filipino
flexibility
Flame - light and hope
Letter covered by the title
- Rizal's letter to his
parents
The Cover

Cross - Catholicism
Flowers - to the
flowers of Heidelberg
The name of the
author
 The Title
Noli Me Tangere - Means “Touch Me Not”

Noli Me Tangere - is
taken from the Gospel of
St. John, 20:16. The
statement was uttered by
the Risen Christ to Mary
Magdalene on His
resurrection.
The Title

The title prominently

crosses the cover, the style
of its print seem as if they
were written in blood, an
augury of pain and
suffering described in the
novel.
The Language Used in Noli Me Tangere
Spanish
 The Theme

• Theme - is the controlling idea of the

story
The Theme of Noli Me Tangere

GREED FOR POWER

The used and abused of power

Rizal, Jose. 1996. Noli Me Tangere,
trans.
Ma. Soledad Lacson – Locsin.
Makati: Bookmark. PQ8897 R5
N531 1996. (Read dedication and
Chaps 1-32).
 THE PREFACE

To My Fatherland,
Cancer is the scourge of mankind; so it is recorded
in the history human distress. So virulent is it that
that it brooks no touch, not even the slightest,
without inflicting the keenest pain. Thou, too, my
Fatherland, are suffering from a social cancer;
 THE PREFACE

menacing in its present aspect! As I invoke thee

in my dreams, in the midst of modern
civilization, sometimes to keep me company , or
to compare thee with other countries that I visit,
I see thee in acute pain from the malady that for
centuries has taken root in your system.
 THE PREFACE

Thy cure is my ultimate desire and the best

treatment I seek to effect it. I will therefore try a
method, one that the ancient Greeks were won’t
to do with their stricken fellows, to expose them
on the steps of the temple for everyone to see,
pity and then for the beholder to offer a cure.
 THE PREFACE

With my pen I will strive hard to record they condition

as I actually see it , without reservations, without giving
any allowance to distinction. I will lift partly the veil that
hides thy ills and expose the truth even though in so
doing I sacrifice myself. Being thy son I, too, posses the
same weakness and deficiencies that you have to bear.
 The Characters

Jose Rizal spoke through the characters he

created. His personification range from
models of the good and the wicked. The
round characters or the protagonists in the
story possess depth and complexity
 The Characters

while the flat characters or the antagonists,

are employed to contrast with or
complement the main characters,
exaggerate their traits and introduced
conflict.
 The Characters

The round characters in Noli Me Tangere include

Ibarra, Tasio, Sisa, Elias and Ma. Clara while the
flat characters are Fr. Damaso, Fr. Salvi, the
alferez, Dona Consolacion and Dona Victorina.
The rest are the minor characters whose function
is to allow the story to develop.
 THE CHARACTERS THEIR PERSONIFICATIONS
YESTERDAY AND TODAY

* Fr. Damaso Verdolagas

* Fr. Bernardo Salvi
THE CHARACTERS THEIR PERSONIFICATIONS YESTERDAY AND TODAY

* Fr. Hernando Sibyla

* Ibarra, Tasio and Elias - incorporate
the intellectuals and patriots.
THE CHARACTERS THEIR PERSONIFICATIONS YESTERDAY AND TODAY

* Ma. Clara - is the symbol of

innocence, submissiveness, and the
passivity of Philippine society.
* Sisa - externalizes the vicious cycle of
poverty
THE CHARACTERS THEIR PERSONIFICATIONS YESTERDAY AND TODAY

* Crispin and Basilio - represent the

abused children and the broken
dreams,
* Capitan Tiago - typifies Filipinos who
would go to great extent to attain
power and social status.
THE CHARACTERS THEIR PERSONIFICATIONS YESTERDAY AND TODAY

* Dona Consolacion - personifies the

“inspiration” of the Alferezes and the civil
guards. She claims to be an “Spanola” who
cannot speak Tagalog and holds Filipinos
in contempt.
THE CHARACTERS THEIR PERSONIFICATIONS YESTERDAY AND TODAY

* Dona Victorina - depicts the

alienated Filipino woman bent on
marrying one with prestige and high
station in life.
* Filosopo Tasyo - the misunderstood
Philosopher.
 THE PLOT

Please read the plot on the link provided.

Specifically the story of:
a. The Dinner d. Sisa
b. Ibarra e. Elias
c. Ma. Clara f. The Escape of Elias