Life and works of Rizal JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pri de of the Malayan

race, was born on June 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Lagun a. He was the seventh child in a family of 11 children (2 boys and 9 girls). Bot h his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished families. His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal called "a model of fat hers," came from Bian, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a high ly cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called "loving and prudent mother, " was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila. At the age of 3, he learned the alphabe t from his mother; at 5, while learning to read and write, he already showed inc linations to be an artist. He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil d rawings and sketches and by his moldings of clay. At the age 8, he wrote a Tagal og poem, "Sa Aking Mga Kabata," the theme of which revolves on the love of ones l anguage. In 1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an average of "excellent" from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year , he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses leading to the degree of surveyor and expert asses sor at the Ateneo. He finished the latter course on March 21, 1877 and passed th e Surveyors examination on May 21, 1878; but because of his age, 17, he was not g ranted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881. In 1878, he e nrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his stud ies when he felt that the Filipino students were being discriminated upon by the ir Dominican tutors. On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23 , he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of "excellent." Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastere d 22 languages. These include Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit , Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects. A versatile genius, he was an arc hitect, artists, businessman, cartoonists, educator, economist, ethnologist, sci entific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist , nationalist, naturalist, novelist, ophthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist, psy chologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and theologian. He was an expert sw ordsman and a good shot. In the hope of securing political and social reforms fo r his country and at the same time educate his countrymen, Rizal, the greatest a postle of Filipino nationalism, published, while in Europe, several works with h ighly nationalistic and revolutionary tendencies. In March 1887, his daring book , NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin; in 1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morgas S UCCESSOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS with his annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of even long before the Spaniards set foo t on Philippine soil; on September 18, 1991, EL FILIBUSTERISMO, his second novel and a sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than the latter, was printed in Ghent.

Because of his fearless exposures of the injustices committed by the civil and c lerical officials, Rizal provoked the animosity of those in power. This led hims elf, his relatives and countrymen into trouble with the Spanish officials of the country. As a consequence, he and those who had contacts with him, were shadowe d; the authorities were not only finding faults but even fabricating charges to pin him down. Thus, he was imprisoned in Fort Santiago from July 6, 1892 to July 15, 1892 on a charge that anti-friar pamphlets were found in the luggage of his sister Lucia who arrive with him from Hong Kong. While a political exile in Dap itan, he engaged in agriculture, fishing and business; he maintained and operate d a hospital; he conducted classes- taught his pupils the English and Spanish la nguages, the arts. The sciences, vocational courses including agriculture, surve ying, sculpturing, and painting, as well as the art of self defense; he did some researches and collected specimens; he entered into correspondence with renowne d men of letters and sciences abroad; and with the help of his pupils, he contra cted water dam and a relief map of Mindanao- both considered remarkable engineer ing feats. His sincerity and friendliness won for him the trust and confidence o f even those assigned to guard him; his good manners and warm personality were f ound irresistible by women of all races with whom he had personal contacts; his intelligence and humility gained for him the respect and admiration of prominent men of other nations; while his undaunted courage and determination to uplift t he welfare of his people were feared by his enemies. When the Philippine Revolut ion started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time in pressing him down. T hey were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with the revolt and these were never allowed to be confronted by him. Thus, from November 3, 1986, to the date of his execution, he was again committed to Fort Santiago. In his prison cell, he wrote an untitled poem, now known as "Ultimo Adios" which is considered a mas terpiece and a living document expressing not only the heros great love of countr y but also that of all Filipinos. After a mock trial, he was convicted of rebell ion, sedition and of forming illegal association. In the cold morning of Decembe r 30, 1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life had been packed with varied acti vities which proved that the Filipino has capacity to equal if not excel even th ose who treat him as a slave, was shot at Bagumbayan Field. Rizal as to Compare with other Asian heroes Rizal and Sun Yat sen -- Sun Yat-sen has been attributed as the Father of the Chinese Revolution but this may not be totally acceptabl e. To regard Sun as solely responsible for the making of the Chinese Revolution was but a fantastic inflation by hagiographers. It unfairly neglects the work of other revolutionaries like Huang Hsing who were also decisive in creating the C hinese Republic. Again, Sun has been termed an idealist rather than a statesman , an easy prey to any plausible new ideas. Some went to the extreme to say that Sun had nothing to do with the actual work of overthrowing the monarchy because the revolution was finished when he reached China. To accept this last view wou ld mean a total rejection of the significance of Sun in the revolutionary moveme nt and in the history of modern China. Yet this criticism was again not based on historical fact. For it is true that he was away when the Wuchang rising broke out. But well before the outbreak of the revolution, it was Sun that spread the revolutionary idea and urged for the support of the revolution. Even during the revolution, he sought for the neutrality of the Powers. Other contributing facto rs -- The other causes which

contributed to the collapse of the Manchu rule in which Sun played little or no part need to be scrutinized. The Chinese revolutionary movement in general start ed well before Suns advocacy. People of different walks of life had perceived t he decadence of the Manchu rule and the threat of foreign imperialism. Intellect uals, especially, yearned for either reforms or revolution in place of the Manch u dynasty. They knew the essential difference between an ethnic dynasty and the concept of modern nationalism. Anti-Manchu feelings were also facilitated by the constitutional movement starting from 1905. Constitutionalists gathered togethe r to debate and discuss vital current and political issues. They became the peop le who resisted Manchu re-centralisation program and seceded from Manchu rule im mediately after the Wuchang Uprising. The political, social and economic problem s which coalesced with the railway controversy in 1910 and 1911 also produced a revolutionary atmosphere conducive to insurrections. The Railway Protection Club s movement became the focal point of anti-Manchu rule. The reallocation of troo ps into Szechuan, leaving Hunan and Hupei militarily semi-empty, finally provide d the revolutionary spark. Rizal and Mahatma Ghandi - Mahatma Gandhi and Indian Freedom MovementMahatma Gandhi was an important part of Indian independence move ment even when he was not in the country. He noticed the political condition of the country while he was still in South Africa and urged his countrymen to obser ve non-violence and remain truthful in order to achieve freedom from the British . Rizal and Mother Teresa - mother Teresa of Calcutta, the champion of poor and needy was beatified on 19th October 2003 by Pope John Paul II, after she died in 1997. After her death, Mother Teresa came to be regarded as a saint of the Roma n Catholic Church and her beatification was the first step on her path to sainth ood. The ceremony of the beatification of this Macedonian nun who dedicated her life to humanity, took place in Rome leading to an immense increase in her popul arity and peoples belief in her vocation. Rizal s Social and poltical Ideas That body of knowledge relating to society incl uding the wisdom which mans experience in society has taught him is social phil osophy. The facts dealt with are principles involved in nation building and not individual social problems. The subject matter of this social philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the peoples social knowledge. man in society; influential factors in hum an life;racial problems;social constant;social justice;social ideal;poverty and wealth; reforms;youth and greatness;history and progress; future Philippines. Th e above dealt with mans evolution and his environment, explaining for the most pa rt human behavior and capacities like his will to live; his desire to possess ha ppiness; the change of his mentality; the role of virtuous women in the guidance of great men; the need for elevating and inspiring mission; the duties and dict ates of mans conscience; mans need of practicing gratitude; the necessity for cons ulting reliable people; his need for experience; his ability to

deny; the importance of deliberation; the voluntary offer of mans abilities and p ossibilities; the ability to think, aspire and strive to rise; and the proper us e of hearth, brain and spirit-all of these combining to enhance the intricacies, beauty and values of human nature. All of the above served as Rizals guide in hi s continuous effort to make over his be In Rizals political view, a conquered cou ntry like the Philippines should not be taken advantage of but rather should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in the science of selfgovernment. He bitterly assailed and criticized in publications the apparent backwardness of th e Spanish rulers method of governing the country which resulted in: the bondage a nd slavery of the conquered ; the Spanish governments requirement of forced labor and force military service upon the n natives; the abuse of power by means of e xploitation; the government ruling that any complaint against the authorities wa s criminal; andMaking the people ignorant, destitute and fanatic, thus discourag ing the formation of a national sentiment. Rizals guiding political philosophy pr oved to be the study and application of reforms, the extension of human rights, the training for self government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over o ppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self love.loved Philippines. Rizals Novels Noli Me Tangere - Having completed his studies in Europe, young Ju an Crisostomo Ibarra comes back to the Philippines after a 7-year absence. In hi s honor, Captain Tiago throws a gettogether party, which is attended by friars a nd other prominent figures. In an unfortunate incident, former curate Father Dmas o belittles and slanders Ibarra. But Ibarra brushes off the insult and takes no offense; he instead politely excuses himself and leaves the party because of an allegedly important task The day after the humbling party, Ibarra goes to see Ma ra Clara, his love interest, a beautiful daughter of Captain Tiago and an affluen t resident of Binondo, Manila. Their long-standing love is clearly manifested in this meeting, and Mara Clara cannot help but reread the letters her sweetheart h ad written her before he went to Europe. Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieut enant Guevara, a guardia civil, reveals to him the incidents preceding the death of his father, Don Rafael Ibarra, a rich hacendero of the town. According to th e Lieutenant, Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic, in addition to being a filibusteran allegation brought forth by Father Dmaso because of Don Rafa els nonparticipation in the Sacraments, such as Confession and Mass. Father Dmas os animosity against Ibarras father is aggravated by another incident when Don Rafael helped out on a fight between a tax collector and a student fighting, an d the formers death was blamed on him, although it was not deliberate. Suddenly , all of those who thought ill of him surfaced with additional complaints. He wa s imprisoned, and just when the matter was almost settled, he got sick and died in jail. Still not content with what he had done, Father Dmaso arranged for Don R afaels corpse to be dug up and transferred from the Catholic cemetery to the Ch inese cemetery, because he thought it inappropriate to allow a heretic such as D on Rafael a Catholic burial ground. Unfortunately, it was raining and because of the bothersome weight of the cadaver, the men in charge of the burial decided t o throw the corpse into the lake.[1]

Revenge was not in Ibarras plans; instead he carries through his fathers plan of putting up a school, since he believes that education would pave the way to h is countrys progress (all over the novel the author refers to both Spain and th e Philippines as two different countries which form part of a same nation or fam ily, being Spain the mother and the Philippines the daughter). During the inaugu ration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in a sabotage had Elasa myster ious man who had warned Ibarra earlier of a plot to assassinate himnot saved him. Instead the hired killer met an unfortunate incident and died. The sequence of events proved to be too traumatic for Mara Clara who got seriously ill but was lu ckily cured by the medicine Ibarra sent her After the inauguration, Ibarra hosts a luncheon during which Father Dmaso, uninvited and gate-crashing the luncheon, again insults him. Ibarra ignores the priests insolence, but when the latter sl anders the memory of his dead father, he is no longer able to restrain himself a nd lunges at Father Dmaso, prepared to stab the latter for his impudence. As a co nsequence, Dmaso excommunicates Ibarra. Father Dmaso takes this opportunity to per suade the already-hesitant father of Mara Clara to forbid his daughter from marry ing Ibarra. The friar wishes Mara Clara to marry a Peninsular named Linares who j ust arrived from Spain. With the help of the Captain-General, Ibarras excommuni cation is nullified and the Archbishop decides to accept him as a member of the Church once again. But, as fate would have it, some incident of which Ibarra had known nothing about is blamed on him, and he is wrongly arrested and imprisoned . But the accusation against him is overruled because during the litigation that followed, nobody could testify that he was indeed involved. Unfortunately, his letter to Mara Clara somehow gets into the hands of the jury and is manipulated s uch that it then becomes evidence against him. Meanwhile, in Captain Tiagos res idence, a party is being held to announce the upcoming wedding of Mara Clara and Linares. Ibarra, with the help of Elas, takes this opportunity and escapes from p rison. But before leaving, Ibarra talks to Mara Clara and accuses her of betrayin g him, thinking that she gave the letter he wrote her to the jury. Mara Clara exp lains to Ibarra that she will never conspire against him but that she was forced to surrender Ibarras letter to her in exchange for the letters written by her mother even before she, Mara Clara, was born. The letters were from her mother, Pa Alba, to Father Dmaso alluding to their unborn child; and that she, Mara Clara, i s therefore not the daughter of Captain Tiago, but of Father Dmaso. Afterwards, I barra and Elas board a boat and flee the place. Elas instructs Ibarra to lie down and the former covers the latter with grass to conceal the latters presence. As luck would have it, they are spotted by their enemies. Elas thinks he could outs mart them and jumps into the water. The guards rain shots on the person in the w ater, all the while not knowing that they are aiming at the wrong man. Mara Clara , thinking that Ibarra has been killed in the shooting incident, is greatly over come with grief. Robbed of hope and severely disillusioned, she asks Father Dmaso to confine her into a nunnery. Father Dmaso reluctantly agrees when Mara Clara th reatens to take her own life. demanding, "the nunnery or death!"[2] Unbeknownst to her, Ibarra is still alive and able to escape. It was Elas who has taken the s hots. It is Christmas Eve when Elias wakes up in the forest, gravely wounded and barely alive. It is in this forest that Elias finds Basilio and his lifeless mo ther, Sisa.

El Filibusterismo - Thirteen years after he left the Philippines, Juan Crisostom o Ibarra (the main character from Noli Me Tangere) returned as Simoun, a rich je weler sporting a beard and bluetinted glasses, and a confidant of the Governor-G eneral of the Philippines Captain-General. Abandoning his idealism, he becomes a cynical saboteur, the titular Filibuster (military)| filibustero, seeking reven ge against the Spanish Philippines system responsible for his misfortunes by plo tting a revolution. Simoun insinuates himself into Manila high society and influ ences every decision of the Captain-General to mismanage the countrys affairs so that a revolution will break out. He cynically sides with the upper classes, enc ouraging them to commit abuses against the masses so that the latter would be en couraged to revolt against the oppressive Spanish colonial regime. This time, he does not attempt to fight the authorities through legal means, but through viol ent revolution using the masses. Simoun has reasons for instigating a revolution . First is to rescue Mara Clara from the convent and second, to get rid of ills a nd evils of Philippine society. His true identity is discovered by a now grown-u p Basilio while visiting the grave of his mother, Sisa, as Simoun was digging ne ar the grave site for his buried treasures. Simoun spares Basilios life and asks him to join in his planned revolution against the government, egging him on by b ringing up the tragic misfortunes of the latters family. Basilio declines the o ffer as he still hopes that the countrys condition will improve. Basilio, at this point, is a graduating student of medicine at the Ateneo de Man ila University Ateneo Municipal de Manila. After the death of his mother, Sisa, and the disappearance of his younger brother, Crispn, Basilio heeded the advice o f the dying boatman, Elas, and traveled to Manila to study. Basilio was adopted b y Captain Tiago after Mara Clara entered the convent. With Captain Tiagos help, Ba silio was able to go to Colegio de San Juan de Letrn where, at first, he is frown ed upon by his peers and teachers not only because of the color of his skin but also because of his shabby appearance which he also experience at Ateneo. Captai n Tiagos confessor, Father Irene is making Captain Tiagos health worse by giving h im opium even as Basilio tries hard to prevent Captain Tiago from smoking it. He and other students want to establish a Spanish language academy so that they ca n learn to speak and write Spanish language in the Philippines Spanish despite t he opposition from the Dominican Order Dominican friars of the University of San to Tomas|Universidad de Santo Tomas. With the help of a reluctant Father Irene a s their mediator and Don Custodios decision, the academy is established; however they will only serve as caretakers of the school not as the teachers. Dejected a nd defeated, they hold a mock celebration at a pancitera while a spy for the fria rs witnesses the proceedings. Simoun, for his part, keeps in close contact with the bandit group of Kabesang Tales, a former cabeza de barangay who suffered mis fortunes at the hands of the friars. Once a farmer owning a prosperous sugarcane plantation and a cabeza de barangay (barangay head), he was forced to give ever ything to the greedy and unscrupulous Spanish friars. His son, Tano, who became a civil guard was captured by bandits; his daughter Jul had to work as a maid to get enough ransom money for his freedom; and his father, Tandang Selo, suffered a stroke and became mute. Before joining the bandits, Tales took Simouns revolver while Simoun was staying at his house for the night. As payment, Tales leaves a locket that once belonged to Mara Clara. To further strengthen the revolution, S imoun has Quiroga, a China|Chinese man hoping to be appointed consul to the Phil ippines, smuggle weapons into the country using Quirogas bazaar as a front. Simou n wishes to attack during a stage play with all of his enemies in attendance.

He, however, abruptly aborts the attack when he learns from Basilio that Mara Cla ra had died earlier that day in the convent. A few days after the mock celebrati on by the students, the people are agitated when disturbing posters are found di splayed around the city. The authorities accuse the students present at the panc itera of agitation and disturbing peace and has them arrested. Basilio, although not present at the mock celebration, is also arrested. Captain Tiago dies after learning of the incident and as stated in his willforged by Father Irene, all his possessions are given to the Church, leaving nothing for Basilio. Basilio is le ft in prison as the other students are released. A high official tries to interv ene for the release of Basilio but the Captain-General, bearing grudges against the high official, coerces him to tender his resignation. Jul, Basilios girlfriend and the daughter of Kabesang Tales, tries to ask Father Camorras help upon the a dvice of an elder woman. Instead of helping Jul, however, Father Camorra tries to rape her as he has longhidden desires for Jul. Jul, rather than submit to the wil l of the friar, jumps over the balcony to her death. Basilio is soon released with the help of Simoun. Basilio, now a changed man, an d after hearing about Juls suicide, finally joins Simouns revolution. Simoun then tells Basilio his plan at the wedding of Paulita Gmez and Juanito, Basilios hunch -backed classmate. His plan was to conceal an explosive inside a pomegranate-sty led Kerosene lamp|lamp that Simoun will give to the newlyweds as a gift during t he wedding reception. The reception will take place at the former home of the la te Captain Tiago, which was now filled with explosives planted by Simoun. Accord ing to Simoun, the lamp will stay lighted for only 20 minutes before it flickers ; if someone attempts to turn the wick, it will explode and kill everyoneimportan t members of civil society and the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines|Chur ch hierarchyinside the house. Basilio has a change of heart and attempts to warn the people inside, including Isagani, his friend and the former boyfriend of Pau lita. Simoun leaves the reception early as planned and leaves a note behind; Ini tially thinking that it was simply a bad joke by those left behind, Father Salv r ecognizes the handwriting and confirms that it was indeed Ibarras. As people begi n to panic, the lamp flickers. Father Irene tries to turn the wick up when Isaga ni, due to his undying love for Paulita, bursts in the room and throws the lamp into the river, sabotaging Simouns plans. He escapes by diving into the river a s guards chase after him. He later regrets his impulsive action because he had c ontradicted his own belief that he loved his nation more than Paulita and that t he explosion and revolution could have fulfilled his ideals for Filipino society . Simoun, now unmasked as the perpetrator of the attempted arson and failed revo lution, becomes a fugitive. Wounded and exhausted after he was shot by the pursu ing Guardia Civil soldiers, he seeks shelter at the home of Father Florentino, I saganis uncle, and comes under the care of Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaa, the husband of Doa Victorina, who was also hiding at the house. Simoun takes poison in order for him not to be captured alive by the authorities. Before he dies, he reveals his real identity to Father Florentino while they exchange thoughts about the f ailure of his revolution and why God forsook him. Father Florentino opines that God did not forsake him and that his plans were not for the greater good but for personal gain. Simoun, finally accepting Father Florentinos explanation, squeeze s his hand and dies. Father Florentino then takes Simouns remaining jewels and th rows them into the sea, hoping that they would not be used by the greedy, and th at when the time came that it would be used for the

greater good, when the nation would be finally deserving liberty for themselves, the sea would reveal the treasures.