This is a very broad topic Rizal Essays

This
is
a
very
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These two novels are touted as the novels that sparked a revolution. They are the
barometer of the prevalent climate at the latter half of the Spanish rule in the
Philippines. The first novel, Noli Me Tangere is Latin for Touch me not. According to
Jose Rizal, the prevailing culture of injustice and oppression during that time was a
cancer that was killing the Philippine society and culture. As we know, cancer growths
should not be touched lest they metastasize to fatal (end-stage) proportions. Jose Rizal
was a medical doctor after all. Noli

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Me Tangere laid the ground work for the two novels. There was actually a third one in
the works but Rizal died before finishing it. In Noli, he gave the reader the prevailing
climate of Philippine society.
In the chapter The Rulers, he explains that the true powers in Philippine society did not
belong to the governor general or the King of Spain but to the military and the church,
represented in the chapter by the alferez (sheriff or chief of military police) and the
parish priest (cura). Since the beginning of Spanish rule in the Philippines, it has always
been the sword (military might) and the cross (church) that kept the people oppressed
and under control. The abuses of the military had been widely documented and so with
the church. The church undermined the govt saying that no matter how high the
position of the official is, his boss is still human. A lowly priest however, answers only to
God. The novel goes on detailing the abuses of the military and the church by curtailing
the education of the masses so they would remain illiterate and not able to mount a
revolution (ironic since the revolution that toppled the Spanish regime came from the
masses led by Andres Bonifacio). The church kept the masses afraid by their
evangelization of hell and damnation and selling of indulgences.
The main character of Noli is Crisostomo Ibarra who represents the indio (pure Filipino)
who was fortunate enough to be educated abroad. Although Noli was not
autobiographical, Ibarra could be a personification of Rizal and his colleagues (del Pilar,
Jaena, the Lunas, etc) who were Filipinos who studied in Spain. It is believed by this
group of people that change in the Philippines would be brought about by them (people
like them) as they were proponents of educating the masses, more specifically on the
Spanish language. Thats why the character Ibarra was planning to build a school.

Ibarra believed in changing society from the inside, working with the system. Rizal did
not really believe in the idea of a revolution, emancipation from Spanish rule. He was
actually a proponent of making the Philippines a province of Spain. He and his
colleagues wanted Filipino representation in the parliament to make Filipinos at equal
footing with Spanish citizens. The bureaucracy in Spain was amenable to this idea.
Socialism was slowly taking a foothold in the parliament. The monarchy was facing
mounting unpopularity. However, the powers that be in the Philippines had other ideas.
Again this would be the military and the church. In the novel, as with any good idea to
improve the welfare of native Filipinos, the planned school was shut down and labelled
a vehicle for revolution. The other main character in the novel is Elias. He is the alterego of Ibarra. He was also after change but by using drastic measures revolution. In
the end, the two differing sides were brought together by circumstance.
Elias helps Ibarra escape when the latter was imprisoned for treason (building the
school). They exchanged views on the boat. Before the novel ends however, they were
once again parted when Elias discovers that it was Ibarras ancestors that had his
ancestors killed. This is symbolic of Rizals desire to have the educateds view (change
through peaceful means) triumph over the masses view (revolution). And that the two
will never mix. To further the nail on the coffin of revolutionary thoughts, he kills off Elias
at the end of the novel. He did provide a spark to keep Elias hope alive he meets
Basilio in the cemetary. El Fili is also a social commentary on the times except here,
Rizal further explores the avenue of revolution. First he explains Philippine society as a
ship of haves and havenots. The lower deck is populated by the havenots, the
upperdeck, the haves. The ship looks like a waterpail not pointed on one side
because this represents that the Philippines is going nowhere just floating aimlessly at
sea. In Fili, he presents a group of idealistic students wanting again to build a school for
younger students to learn the language. They meet socially in a Panciteria. This group
is representative again of Rizals group in Madrid (a veritable whos who of Philippine
national heroes). Again the group is foiled as they were all accused of treason as set up
by the so-called Brown Cardinal in the person of Simoun.
The students are arrested. They were released one by one according to their status in
civil society (the one with more money or connection got out first). The last one to be
released was Basilio (who lost his girlfriend Juli who attempted to secure his release
through Padre Camorra the priest attempted to rape her but she jumped off the
church tower). In the end, we discover that Simoun himself was the leader of the foiled
revolution. He smashed the young uns school idea to push his revolution idea. He
planned to explode a bomb in the well-attended wedding of Juanito Pelaez and Paulita.
But he was foiled when Isagani (Paulitas ex) took the lamp with the bomb and threw it
in the water before it exploded. The bomb was supposed to kill the whos who in society
and government and signal the start of the revolution.
The bomb failed and the revolters were caught. So Rizal once again shots down the
avenue of revolution. It turns out that Simoun was Ibarra made bitter by his earlier
failure (in Noli), he reinvents himself and embeds himself in Spains whos who to be in
a position of power when he returned to the islands. Both novels were misunderstood

during their time. The powers that be were too afraid of their own ghost that they didnt
really comprehend the stories. Rizal was not a separatist or revolutionary. He was for
making the Philippines a province of Spain. However, they were too afraid of an
educated Filipino that they banned the novels.
The ban more than anything else, pushed the revolution into the consciousness of the
Filipinos. Most Filipinos of the time did not even read the books. The speculation fueled
by the controversy was enough to stir the people into a revolutionary frenzy. The straw
that broke the camels back was the execution of Rizal. The proponents of the revolution
had at one time or another visited him in exile in Dapitan so it is safe to assume that
they respected him and his death affected them. Source:
I dont have any references except the novels I read it for leisure. Noli Me Tangere is
more on emotion(love of Ibarra for maria Clara,Love of a mother to her sons) while El
Filibusterismo is more on anger,vengeance and revolts. I dont have a reference I could
give to you, You should read the novels or the summary of these two. COMPARISON
OF NOLI METANGERE AND EL FILIBUSTERISMO
Similarities
and
Differences
Noli metangere and El filibusterismo are the two marked novels of our
national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal which are similar and different in some ways. The two
novels are similar primarily in their author, Rizal. Another, in a way that they both talk
about how Spaniards abused the Filipinos, the abuse of the church of their power and
the discrimination on Filipinos. Both Noli and El Fili shows strong anti-Clerical and even
anti-Catholic color. They convey one story because the latter is published in sequel or
continuation. However, they are different in many cases. Firstly Noli Metangere, Latin
title meaning touch me not refers to the letter of John 20:17 in King James version of
the Bible as Mary Magdalene tried to touch the newly risen Jesus, He said Touch me
not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.
Meanwhile, El filibusterismo is Spanish title which is known in english as The Reign of
Greed. Noli is a love story or a romantic novel, dedicated to our motherland while El fili
is a political novel associated with revenge and anger and is dedicated to GOMBURZA.
The first is more on action and motion, the latter is thoughtful, discursive and dialectal.
Noli showed a sofspoken, patient, compassionate and idealistic Crisostomo Ibarra while
El Fili featured a different Ibarra who portrayed the angry and vengeful side of him and
disguised himself as the wealthy jeweller named Simoun.Noli is written in the idea that
would expose the ills of Philippine society after Harriet Beecher Stowes Uncle Toms
Cabin. In general Noli is more on the reformist side of Rizal while El fili is on his
revolutionist.
Personal
Opinions
Noli Metangere is actually a tale of romance between Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria
Clara. Between the side lines of Ibarra and Maria Claras love story is the historical

narrative of the era of Dr. Jose Rizal. Ibarras journey in the world of Noli is the life of
our [continues] NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL FILIBUSTERISMO
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo have similarities in terms of aim and purpose.
Both aim to enlighten the Filipinos on what is happening in the country. They want the
people to fight for their country and have the total freedom. One of the great books
written by our national hero, Dr.