Textual

Analysis of Noli
Me Tangere
The Author and the
Novels style, Title, Cover,
Preface, Theme,
Characters, Plot, Point of
Conflict and Denouement

The author and the

novels style
Technique refers to the method and devices that
the author uses; style refers to language.

The Noli me tngere can be regarded as a

historical novel, as it has mostly fictional
characters but also historical persons like
Father Burgos who lived in actual places
within a social system that was then typical
of a colonized land.

Admittedly, Rizal exaggerated a bit, as in his

portrayal of characters like the friars
Damaso, Salvi, and Sibyla; the two women
who were preoccupied with prayers and
novenas, and, the Espadaas but, on the
whole, the novel follows the basic rules of
realism.

 Humor

worked best where a more

serious presentation of the general
practices of religion during that time
(and even up to present time) would
have given the novel a darker and
pessimistic tone.

Rizals

description of the lavish fiesta

showed the comic antics at church and
the ridiculous expense for one day of
festivities.

Title

Noli me tngere
Literally

translated, the Latin words noli me

tngere means, touch me not
Taken from John 20:17 when Mary Magdalene
holds on to Jesus and he tells her not to touch
him.
John 20:17
Jesus said to her: Stop clinging to me. For I
have not yet ascended to the Father . But be
on your way to my brothers and say to them,
I am ascending to my Father and to your
Father and to my God and your God.

Cover

CROSS- sufferings
POMELO BLOSSOMS AND LAUREL
LEAVES- honor and fidelity
SILHOUETTE OF A FILIPINA- Maria
Clara
BURNING TORCH- rage and passion
SUNFLOWERS- enlightenment
BAMBOO STALKS THAT WERE CUT
DOWN BUT GREW BACK- resilience
A MAN IN A CASSOCK WITH HAIRY
FEET- priests using religion in a dirty
way
CHAINS- slavery
WHIPS- cruelties
HELMET OF THE GUARDIA CIVILarrogance of those in authority

At the top, all that is best in Philippine life: woman, symbolizing

constancy, religious faith symbolized by the tombstone, with a
laurel (courage) and the flower of the pomelo, worn by bride and
groom at a wedding and symbolizing purity.
The words partly covered by the title are the secret, inner
dedication by Rizal to his parents, the complete text being probably:
A mis P(adres.) al escribir e(sta obra he estado) pensando
continuamente e(n vosotros que me) habeis
infundido los (primeros pensamientos) y las primeras ideas; a
(vosotros os dedi)co este manuscrito de me (joventud com p)rueba
de amor.
Berlin, (21 de Febrero de) 1887.
To the left of the title, the flower mirasol, representing youth
seeking the sun.
The author's name, meaning the green of renewal, mounting up into
the green of the most enduring of all Philippine trees, the bamboo.
At the bottom, all that is worst in Philippine life: the helmet of the
Civil Guard, the whip and instruments of torture, and the foot of a
friar.

Preface
In

the preface of his novel Rizal promises to

reproduce the condition (of the country)
faithfully, without discrimination. He wants to
sacrifice to truth everything.
Rizal wrote in his dedication page in the Noli me
tngere, I will strive to reproduce thy condition
faithfully, without discriminations; I will raise a
part of the veil that covers the evil
He clearly stated his intention of giving an
accurate picture of the conditions in the
Philippines at the time, and this gives the reader
a good idea what the main theme would be.

Theme
Theme as an element of fiction is the idea that
runs through the whole novel, repeated again and
again in various forms and ways.

 The

theme of Noli me Tangere comes from

the Gospel of John. John tells that when Jesus
showed himself after the Resurrection, it was
first to Mary Magdalene.
Jesus called her and she turned round and
saw him. But Jesus did not want her to touch
him. He said literally to her, Do not cling to
me, because I have not yet ascended to the
Father.
But go to the brothers and tell them: I am
ascending to my father and your Father, my
God and your God.

The Noli me Tangere or Touch me not is a

symbol of the need for distance.
The Noli me Tangere is a similar theme of
longing and unfulfilment.
There is no more tragic love and of course no
greater love than of two beings unable to reach
each other, since such a love eternally remains
unblemished.
Rizal's book persistently unmasks contemporary
Spaniards in the Philippines of every kind.
He exposes corruption and brutality of the civil
guards which drive good men to crime and
banditry.

He focuses on an administration crawling with selfseekers, out to make their fortune at the expense of
the Filipinos, so that the few officials who are honest
and sincere are unable to overcome the treacherous
workings of the system, and their efforts to help the
country often end up in frustration or in self-ruin.
The Noli is Rizal's expos of corrupt friars who have
made the Catholic religion an instrument for enriching
and perpetuating themselves in power by seeking to
mire ignorant Filipinos in fanaticism and superstition.
According to Rizal, instead of teaching Filipinos true
Catholicism, they control the government by opposing
all progress and persecuting members of the ilustrado
unless they make themselves their servile flatterers.

Rizal does not, however, spare his fellow

countrymen.

The superstitious and hypocritical fanaticism of

many who consider themselves religious people;
the ignorance, corruption, and brutality of the
Filipino civil guards;
the passion for gambling unchecked by the
thought of duty and responsibility;
the servility of the wealthy Filipino towards friars
and government officials;
the ridiculous efforts of Filipinos to dissociate
themselves from their fellowmen or to lord it
over them--all these are ridiculed and disclosed.

 Rizal

nevertheless balances the national portrait by

highlighting the virtues and good qualities of his
unspoiled countryman:

It

the modesty and devotion of the Filipina, the unstinting

hospitality of the Filipino family,
the devotion of parents to their children and children to
their parents,
the deep sense of gratitude, and
the solid common sense of the untutored peasant.

calls on the Filipino to recover his self-confidence,

to appreciate his own worth, to return to the heritage
of his ancestors, and to assert himself as the equal
of the Spaniard.
It insists on the need of education, of dedication to
the country, and of absorbing aspects of foreign
cultures that would enhance the native traditions."

Characters
Major characters

Ibarra (Juan Crisstomo Ibarra y Magsalin)

Son of a Filipino businessman, Don Rafael Ibarra, he
studied in Europe for seven years. Ibarra is also Mara
Clara's fianc. Upon his return, Ibarra requested the
local government of San Diego to construct a public
school to promote education in the town.

Mara Clara (Mara Clara de los Santos y Alba)

She was raised by Capitn Tiago, San Diego's cabeza
de barangay and is the most beautiful and widely
celebrated girl in San Diego.
In the later parts of the novel, Mara Clara's identity
was revealed as an illegitimate daughter of Father
Dmaso, former parish curate of the town, and Doa
Pa Alba, wife of Capitn Tiago. In the end she entered
local covenant for nuns Beaterio de Santa Clara.

Capitn Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos)

is a Filipino businessman and the cabeza de barangay or
head of barangay of the town of San Diego. He is also the
known father of Mara Clara. He is also said to be a good
Catholic, friend of the Spanish government and was
considered as a Spanish by colonialists. Capitn Tiago
never attended school, so he became a domestic helper
of a Dominican friar who taught him informal education.
He married Pa Alba from Santa Cruz.
Padre Dmaso (Dmaso Verdolagas)
is a Franciscan friar and the former parish curate of San
Diego. He is best known as a notorious character who
speaks with harsh words and has been a cruel priest
during his stay in the town.
He is the real father of Mara Clara and an enemy of
Crisstomo's father, Rafael Ibarra. Later, he and Mara
Clara had bitter arguments whether she would marry
Alfonso Linares or go to a convent. At the end of the
novel, he is again re-assigned to a distant town and is

Elas
is Ibarra's mysterious friend and ally. Elas made his
first appearance as a pilot during a picnic of Ibarra and
Mara Clara and her friends.
He wants to revolutionize the country and to be freed
from Spanish oppression.

Filosofo Tacio(Pilosopo Tasyo)

Seeking for reforms from the government, he
expresses his ideals in paper written in a
cryptographic alphabet similar from hieroglyphs and
Coptic figures hoping "that the future generations may
be able to decipher it" and realized the abuse and
oppression done by the conquerors. His full name is
only known as Don Anastacio.
The educated inhabitants of San Diego labeled him as
Filosofo Tacio (Tacio the Sage) while others called him
as Tacio el Loco (Insane Tacio) due to his exceptional

Sisa, Crispn, and Basilio

Sisa, Crispn, and Basilio represent a Filipino family persecuted
by the Spanish authorities.
Narcisa or Sisa is the deranged mother of Basilio and
Crispn. Described as beautiful and young, although she
loves her children very much, she can not protect them from
the beatings of her husband, Pedro.
Crispn is Sisa's 7-year-old son. An altar boy, he was
unjustly accused of stealing money from the church.
After failing to force Crispn to return the money he allegedly
stole, Father Salv and the head sacristan killed him.
Basilio is Sisa's 10-year-old son. An acolyte tasked to ring
the church bells for the Angelus, he faced the dread of losing
his younger brother and falling of his mother into insanity.

Other characters

Padre Hernando de la Sibyla a Dominican friar. He is

described as short and has fair skin. He is instructed by
an old priest in his order to watch Crisstomo Ibarra.
Padre Bernardo Salv the Franciscan curate of San
Diego, secretly harboring lust for Mara Clara. He is
described to be very thin and sickly. It is also hinted that
his last name, "Salvi" is the shorter form of "Salvi"
meaning Salvation, or "Salvi" is short for "Salvaje"
meaning bad hinting to the fact that he is willing to kill an
innocent child, Crispin, just to get his money back, though
there was not enough evidence that it was Crispin who
has stolen his 2 onzas.
El Alfrez or Alperes chief of the Guardia Civil. Mortal
enemy of the priests for power in San Diego and husband
of Doa Consolacion.
Doa Consolacon wife of the Alfrez, nicknamed as la
musa de los guardias civiles (The muse of the Civil
Guards) or la Alfreza, was a former laundrywoman who
passes herself as a Peninsular; best remembered for her

Doa Victorina (Doa Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaa)

is an ambitious Filipina who classifies herself as a Spanish and
mimics Spanish ladies by putting on heavy make-up.
Don Tiburcio de Espadaa Spanish Quack Doctor who is
limp and submissive to his wife, Doa Victorina.
Teniente Guevara - a close friend of Don Rafael Ibarra. He
reveals to Crisstomo how Don Rafael Ibarra's death came
about.
Alfonso Linares A distant nephew of Tiburcio de Espanada,
the would-be fianc of Mara Clara. Although he presented
himself as a practitioner of law, it was later revealed that he, just
like Don Tiburcio, is a fraud. He later died due to given
medications of Don Tiburcio.
Ta Isabel - Capitn Tiago's cousin, who raised Maria Clara.
Governor General (Gobernador Heneral) Unnamed person in
the novel, he is the most powerful official in the Philippines.
He has great disdains against the friars and corrupt officials, and
sympathizes Ibarra.

 Don

Filipo Lino vice mayor of the town of

San Diego, leader of the liberals.
Padre Manuel Martn - he is the linguistic
curate of a nearby town, who says the
sermon during San Diego's fiesta.
Don Rafael Ibarra - father of Crisstomo
Ibarra. Though he is the richest man in San
Diego, he is also the most virtuous and
generous.
Dona Pa Alba - wife of Capitan Tiago and
mother of Mara Clara. She died giving birth
to her. In reality, she was raped by Dmaso so
she could bear a child.

Non-recurring
characters
These characters were mentioned in the novel,
appeared once, mentioned many times or have
no major contribution to the storyline.

Don Pedro Eibarramendia - the great-grandfather of

Crisstomo Ibarra who came from the Basque area of
Spain. He started the misfortunes of Elias' family.
His descendants abbreviated their surname to Ibarra. He
died of unknown reasons, but was seen as a decaying
corpse on a Balite Tree.
Don Saturnino Ibarra - the son of Don Pedro, father of
Don Rafael and grandfather of Crisstomo Ibarra. He was
the one who developed the town of San Diego. He was
described as a cruel man but was very clever.
Salom - Elas' sweetheart. She lives in a little house by
the lake, and though Elas would like to marry her, he tells
her that it would do her or their children no good to be
related to a fugitive like himself.
Sinang - Maria Clara's friend. Because Crisstomo Ibarra
offered half of the school he was building to Sinang, he
gained Capitan Basilio's support.

Iday, Andeng and Victoria - Maria Clara's other

friends.
Capitn Basilio - Sinang's father, leader of the
conservatives.
Pedro the abusive husband of Sisa who loves
cockfighting.
Tandng Pablo The leader of the tulisanes (bandits),
whose family was destroyed because of the Spaniards.
El hombre amarillo (apparently means "yellowish
person", named as Taong Madilaw) - One of Crisostomo
Ibarra's would-be assassins. He is not named in the
novel, and only described as such. In the novel, he
carved the cornerstone for Ibarra's school. Instead of
killing Ibarra, he was killed by his cornerstone.
Lucas - the brother of the taong madilaw. He planned a
revolution against the government with Ibarra as the
leader after he was turned down by Ibarra. He was said
to have a scar on his left cheek. He would later be killed

 or

Juan (ol Juan) - appointed as foreman of

the school to be built by Ibarra
Capitana Tika - Sinang's mother and wife of
Capitan Basilio.
Albino - a former seminarian who joined the
picnic with Ibarra and Mara Clara. Was later
captured during the revolution.
Capitana Mara Elena - a nationalist woman
who defends Ibarra of the memory of his
father.
Capitn Tinong and Capitn Valentn other known people from the town of San
Diego.
Sacristn Mayor - The one who governs the
altar boys and killed Crispn for his accusation.

Plot

 The

plot revolves around Crisostomo Ibarra,

mixed-race heir of a wealthy clan, returning
home after seven years in Europe and filled with
ideas on how to better the lot of his countrymen.
Striving for reforms, he is confronted by an
abusive ecclesiastical hierarchy and a Spanish
civil administration by turns indifferent and cruel.
The death of Ibarras father, Don Rafael, prior to
his homecoming, and the refusal of a Catholic
burial by Padre Damaso, the parish priest,
provokes Ibarra into hitting the priest, for which
Ibarra is excommunicated. The decree is
rescinded, however, when the governor general
intervenes.

 The

friar and his successor, Padre Salvi,

embody the rotten state of the clergy. Their
tangled feelingsone paternal, the other
carnalfor Maria Clara, Ibarras sweetheart
and rich Capitan Tiagos beautiful daughter,
steel their determination to spoil Ibarras
plans for a school.
The town philosopher Tasio wryly notes
similar past attempts have failed, and his
sage commentary makes clear that all
colonial masters fear that an enlightened
people will throw off the yoke of oppression.

 Using

satire brilliantly, Rizal creates other

memorable characters whose lives manifest the
poisonous effects of religious and colonial
oppression.
Capitan Tiago; the social climber Doa Victorina de
Espadaa and her toothless Spanish husband;
the Guardia Civil head and his harridan of a wife; the
sorority of devout women;
the disaffected peasants forced to become outlaws:
in sum, a microcosm of Philippine society.
In the afflictions that plague them, Rizal paints a
harrowing picture of his beloved but suffering
country in a work that speaks eloquently not just to
Filipinos but to all who have endured or witnessed
oppression.

Point of conflict

 Ibarra

debates with the mysterious Elias, with whose life

his is intertwined. The privileged Ibarra favors peaceful
means, while Elias, who has suffered injustice at the
hands of the authorities, believes violence is the only
option.
Ibarras enemies, particularly Salvi, implicate him in a fake
insurrection, though the evidence against him is weak.
Then Maria Clara betrays him to protect a dark family
secret, public exposure of which would be ruinous. Ibarra
escapes from prison with Eliass help and confronts her.
She explains why, Ibarra forgives her, and he and Elias
flee to the lake. But chased by the Guardia Civil, one dies
while the other survives.
Convinced Ibarras dead, Maria Clara enters the nunnery,
refusing a marriage arranged by Padre Damaso. Her
unhappy fate and that of the more memorable Sisa,
driven mad by the fate of her sons, symbolize the
countrys condition, at once beautiful and miserable.

Crisostomo Ibarra
As

the protagonist of the novel, Crisostomo Ibarra

is the character in whose character the main
conflict resides. It is easy enough to identify the
external conflicts:
Ibarra versus the society of his time -- its values
and its prejudices;
Ibarra versus Father Damaso and, indirectly, with
the other friars;
Ibarra versus Kapitan Tiago whose very strong
sense of self-preservation puts him in direct
conflict with the love between Maria Clara and
Ibarra.

Maria clara
Maria Clara did not really resolve the conflicts
within her; she chose to escape, by entering the
convent as a nun.
Rightly or wrongly, Maria Clara has been held as
the ideal Filipina which, perhaps, is the reason
why many Filipinas prefer to be or pretend to
prefer being a Maria Clara type with all its
dubious virtues.
Many had used the convent as an escape from a
world that could not give them happiness or the
fulfilment they crave.

Other confilicts
Other

conflicts, mostly internal reside in

other characters such as Sisa, Doa
Victorina, Doa Consolacion, and Elias.
However, the more internal conflict
within Ibarra is the more interesting one,
as it expresses the dilemma of presentday Filipinos: the conflict between
traditional values and ones personal
values that had been developed through
time.

Denouement
the final part of a play, film, etc. in which matters
are explained or resolved.

Interestingly, Maria Claras escapism was revealed in

the Epilogue when two patrolmen who sought
shelter from a storm under the eaves near the
nunnery.
They saw a white figure standing almost on the
ridge of the roof with arms and face raised toward
the sky as if praying to it. She escaped a problem
through religion that was itself a part of that
problem.
Ibarras enemies, particularly Salvi, implicate him in
a fake insurrection, though the evidence against him
is weak. Then Maria Clara betrays him to protect a
dark family secret, public exposure of which would
be ruinous. Ibarra escapes from prison with Eliass
help and confronts her.

 She

explains why, Ibarra forgives her,

and he and Elias flee to the lake. But
chased by the Guardia Civil, one dies
while the other survives.
Convinced Ibarras dead, Maria Clara
enters the nunnery, refusing a marriage
arranged by Padre Damaso.
Her unhappy fate and that of the more
memorable Sisa, driven mad by the fate
of her sons, symbolize the countrys
condition, at once beautiful and
miserable.