Ma. Ivy Leland M.

Opulencia 3BS1

REFLECTION PAPER

Rizal was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna, the seventh child and the second son of the 11 children of Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso. Rizals parents were not only well-to-do, but also well educated, a rarity among Filipino families then. His father, a sugar planter and landholder, attended a Latin school in his native Binan town, also in Laguna, and a college in Manila. His mother, who had a good business sense managed some small enterprise, also studies at a Manila college. Rizal was a precocious child. At the age of two, he could already recite the alphabet and, at four write sentences in Tagalog as well as Spanish. Rizal had his first formal education, which consisted of Latin and arithmetic, with a private tutor. He was about seven when his parents enrolled him at a school in town. But after only a few weeks, he told his parents that his teacher had nothing more to teach than that he already knew. He was thereupon allowed to study by himself at home. Virtually the same home-study arrangements was made after his father sent him to a Latin school in Binan, where he stayed with his relatives, except that the reason he did not last there was tow-fold: the schoolmaster was unimaginative and sadistic, and his relatives kept sloppy household. Rizal was at that age, or a little younger, when he started writing poems in Tagalog. He also wrote a short Tagalog comedy which was well received when it was staged in Calamba. His fascination for Tagalog poetry inspired him to write a poem on Tagalog itself, extolling it as an equal Spanish and other advanced languages. Sensitive and quite observant, Rizal, while still young, was already aware of the arrogant and condescending attitude of the frailocracy towards Filipinos, whom it often humiliated and maltreated. In June 1872, aged 11, Rizal started attending the Jesuit-run Ateneo Municipal in Intramuros, Manila.

The film "Rizal in Dapitan" is about the life of Jose Rizal (Albert Martinez) while he was inside the Dapitan. He was detained because of his opposition to the friars and Spanish Goverment, which caused his exile in Dapitan. During the early days of his stay in Dapitan. He is forced to turn to God by his friend who is a priest, Fr. Obach (Chris Michelena). He still stood on his position which caused leaving of the parish. Rizal made his stay very significant in Dapitan where not only was he become an ordinary prisoner but he also became a physician, teacher, engineer and agriculturist. Rizals mother, Doa Teodora Alonzo (Rustica Carpio) and Sister Mary (Candy Pangilinan) and Narcisa (Tess Dumpit) came to Dapitan as his request to be with them bringing with them a bad news about Leonors death. Because of the news, Rizal was gob smacked making himself losing to reality. Until one day, he met the adopted daughter of George Taufer--Josephine Bracken (Amanda Page).Josephine came to the Philippines to accompany his step father and see Rizal for consultation. Rizal was not able to treat Brackens father, she left with the promise of coming back to the Philippines. Bracken kept her promise. Rizal and Bracken planned to get married. They asked the priest to bless and wed them. The Priest was hesitant to give what they both wants not until Rizal turns back to the Catholic Church. For wanting to be married, they still got married even if the presence of a priest is not their. Their relationship went well until Rizal found out Brackens infedil ity causing their fight which resulted her miscarriage. It is also about the life of Rizals exile in Dapitan in 1892. Rizal was very generous and helpful when he helped the local residents by giving them knowledge or education for free. He shared his knowledge about almost everything he learned in Europe. I think the movie was really knowledgeable because movie also emphasizes the things that were said in the book. Like the scene of him being a mason, where he joined the mason lodge called acacia in Madrid and actually transferred to lodge Solidaridad when he became a Master Mason. In that film, he shared his knowledge to youngsters and taught them a lot. There is also a scene that Rizal taught the youngster fencing. Also, the film showed where he cared and cured his mother. From the chapter ten of the book by Zaide, the first homecoming, Rizal went back to the Philippines for the first time and he immediately treat his mother, but cannot do surgery right away because her eyes wasnt that ripe. You can also see in the movie how friars blackmailed Filipinos that a women and man shouldnt be together if they are not married. There was a scene in the movie where all the priests refused when Rizal was asking for the sacrament of Matrimony. Thinking of that, I was really shocked and I cant even imagine that in Rizals time where the church is almost the government and they were like the head of the states.

Religious blackmail is that powerful and you can see people are not happy about it. There is an ongoing debate about church and state whenever RH bill came up, but people in this generation are more aware and open-minded where the church cannot simply and easily say that if RH bill will be approve you are going to hell. People now a day wouldnt believe that especially in the Philippines right now is not catholic country anymore since most of the people change their religion to Christian, Muslims, Buddhism and others.