There is a saying that, “Literature is a mirror of our culture”.

Literature is one of the priceless treasures that will change our

lives and we uncover ourselves to the things around us. The
characters in different literary pieces represent their stand in the
current issues of the society, especially the symbolic
representation of the writer’s use. Philippine literature explains
the reflection of our lives as Filipinos and how we interact with our
society.

Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere was all about the description of the
Spanish colonization here in the Philippines and how the Spanish
treated Filipinos badly. It followed the story of Crisostomo Ibarra
who came from Europe to study and returned in the Philippines
after his seven years of journey. He reunited with his
acquaintances including his nemesis, Padre Damaso at Kapitan
Tiago’s house. He also visited his love, Maria Clara whom he
missed for so long. He was shocked to learn about his father’s
death. Lieutenant Guevarra, his father’s friend, told the story
behind his father’s death. He was told that Padre Damaso ordered
the gravediggers to transfer Rafael Ibarra’s body to the Chinese
Cemetery. Although the gravediggers did not follow Padre
Damaso’s order, they threw the body into the river. This made
Crisostomo Ibarra angry that made him start a revolution against
Padre Damaso and the Spanish government.
This novel has a lot of symbolism and real-life events that opened
the eyes of the Filipino people during the Spanish colonization to
start the revolution and overthrow the Spanish colonizers. Every
character in Noli Me Tangere has a role that depicts different roles
in Philippine society to fight for the freedom of the country. Jose
Rizal represented his persona as Crisostomo Ibarra who was a rich
character yet he was rebellious who fought for the freedom of the
Spaniards while Elias who was poor and oppressed by the
Spaniards but he sacrificed his life so that Crisostomo can escape
because he believed that Crisostomo has a better chance to fight
against the Spaniards. Elias’ sacrifice paved the way to Crisostomo
Ibarra’s revenge against the Spaniards in the sequel of the novel
“El Filibusterismo”.

Other characters that significantly represent Filipinos were like

Doña Victorina was a social climber who did not want to be known
as an Indio. All Filipinos were called Indios during the time of the
Spaniards which means that Filipinos were foolish, not smart, and
poor. There are characters that have the symbolic meaning of the
novel like Sisa was a mother of Crispin and Basilio who took care
of her children and became an outcast when her sons were
missing. Sisa represents the Inang Bayan or Motherland who
became an outcast because of the ill-treatment of the Spaniards to
the Filipinos while Maria Clara represented the Filipino women
who were oppressed and abused by the Spaniards.
The novel depicted real-life events during the Spanish colonization
in the Philippines like the Friars’ command decisions were more
powerful than the Governor-General’s decisions, social issues,
injustice, and the Philippines as a backward country. The conflicts
in the novel exist until today’s generation that it affects our society
and the country that needs to learn and read Noli Me Tangere. The
conflicts that were dominant in the novel like corruption, injustice,
poverty, and abuse remain the same problem up to this day.

Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere tells us that we should reflect on our

actions and beliefs for our country. The theme of the novel is to
promote nationalism and to accept change in ourselves is still
applies to us today. We must patronize our country by respecting
the law, promoting Philippine culture, and realizing the true goal
of the country by helping each other towards the improvement of
the country. It teaches us the values of wisdom, fighting what is
right, and loving our country. This novel is being taught in school
in order to not repeat the history itself by learning how to love our
country and to empower the youth as the catalyst of change for our
country. Being a true Filipino is what Jose Rizal wants us to be, to
know who we are and what is our true goals will make the country
flourished.

Noli Me Tangere is a novel that was an advisory for the Filipinos to

fight against the colonizers and today’s reminder of our history.
The characters and the events in the story resemble our life,
culture, and beliefs of Filipino people. This literary piece will mark
in our hearts the values that the novel tells us to be a good role
model that will benefit our country. Reading this literary piece will
make us realize the true meaning of nationalism and be a catalyst
for change.

Noli Me Tangere

Spain, to Rizal, was a venue for realizing his dreams. He finished his studies in
Madrid and this to him was the realization of the bigger part of his ambition. His
vision broadened while he was in Spain to the point of awakening in him an
understanding of human nature, sparking in him the realization that his people
needed him. It must have been this sentiment that prompted him to pursue, during
the re-organizational meeting of the Circulo-Hispano-Filipino, to be one of its
activities, the publication of a book to which all the members would contribute
papers on the various aspects and conditions of Philippines life.

"My proposal on the book," he wrote on January 2, 1884, "was unanimously

approved. But afterwards difficulties and objections were raised which seemed to
me rather odd, and a number of gentlemen stood up and refused to discuss the
matter any further. In view of this I decided not ance, then challenge us and we
shall pick up the gauntlet, for we are not cowards like you, which is not to say that
a hidden hand will not put an end to your life."

A special committee of the faculty of the University of Santo Tomas, at the request
of the Archbishop Pedro Payo, found and condemned the novel as heretical,
impious, and scandalous in its religious aspect, and unpatriotic, subversive of public
order and harmful to the Spanish government and its administration of theses
islands in its political aspect.

On December 28, 1887, Fray Salvador Font, the cura of Tondo and chairman of the
Permanent Commission of Censorship composed of laymen and ordered that the
circulation of this pernicious book" be absolutely prohibited.

Not content, Font caused the circulation of copies of the prohibition, an act which
brought an effect contrary to what he desired. Instead of what he expected, the
negative publicity awakened more the curiosity of the people who managed to get
copies of the book.

Assisting Father Font in his aim to discredit the Noli was an Augustinian friar by the
name of Jose Rodriguez. In a pamphlet entitled Caiingat Cayo (Beware). Fr.
Rodriguez warned the people that in reading the book they "commit mortal sin,"
considering that it was full of heresy.

As far as Madrid, there was furor over the Noli, as evidenced by an article which
bitterly criticized the novel published in a Madrid newspaper in January, 1890, and
written by one Vicente Barrantes. In like manner, a member of the Senate in the
Spanish Cortes assailed the novel as "anti-Catholic, Protestant, socialistic."

It is well to note that not detractors alone visibly reacted to the effects of the Noli.
For if there were bitter critics, another group composed of staunch defenders found
every reason to justify its publication and circulation Consequently, realizing how
much the Noli had awakened his countrymen, to the point of defending his novel,
Rizal said: "Now I die content."

Fittingly, Rizal found it a timely and effective gesture to dedicate his novel to the
country of his people whose experiences and sufferings he wrote about, sufferings
which he brought to light in an effort to awaken his countrymen to the truths that had long
remained unspoken, although not totally unheard of.

El Filibusterismo

The word "filibustero" wrote Rizal to his friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, is very little
known in the Philippines. The masses do not know it yet. 

Jose Alejandro, one of the new Filipinos who had been quite intimate with Rizal,
said, "in writing the Noli Rizal signed his own death warrant." Subsequent events,
after the fate of the Noli was sealed by the Spanish authorities, prompted Rizal to
write the continuation of his first novel. He confessed, however, that regretted very
much having killed Elias instead of Ibarra, reasoning that when he published the
Noli his health was very much broken, and was very unsure of being able to write
the continuation and speak of a revolution.

Explaining to Marcelo H. del Pilar his inability to contribute articles to the La

Solidaridad, Rizal said that he was haunted by certain sad presentiments, and that
he had been dreaming almost every night of dead relatives and friends a few days
before his 29th birthday, that is why he wanted to finish the second part of the Noli
at all costs.

Consequently, as expected of a determined character, Rizal apparently went in

writing, for to his friend, Blumentritt, he wrote on March 29, 1891: "I have finished
my book. Ah! I’ve not written it with any idea of vengeance against my enemies,
but only for the good of those who suffer and for the rights of Tagalog humanity,
although brown and not good-looking."

To a Filipino friend in Hong Kong, Jose Basa, Rizal likewise eagerly announced the
completion of his second novel. Having moved to Ghent to have the book published
at cheaper cost, Rizal once more wrote his friend, Basa, in Hongkong on July 9,
1891: "I am not sailing at once, because I am now printing the second part of the
Noli here, as you may see from the enclosed pages. I prefer to publish it in some
other way before leaving Europe, for it seemed to me a pity not to do so. For the
past three months I have not received a single centavo, so I have pawned all that I
have in order to publish this book. I will continue publishing it as long as I can; and
when there is nothing to pawn I will stop and return to be at your side."

Inevitably, Rizal’s next letter to Basa contained the tragic news of the suspension of
the printing of the sequel to his first novel due to lack of funds, forcing him to stop
and leave the book half-way. "It is a pity," he wrote Basa, "because it seems to me
that this second part is more important than the first, and if I do not finish it here,
it will never be finished."

Fortunately, Rizal was not to remain in despair for long. A compatriot, Valentin
Ventura, learned of Rizal’s predicament. He offered him financial assistance. Even
then Rizal’s was forced to shorten the novel quite drastically, leaving only thirty-
eight chapters compared to the sixty-four chapters of the first novel.

Rizal moved to Ghent, and writes Jose Alejandro. The sequel to Rizal’s Noli came off
the press by the middle of September, 1891.On the 18th he sent Basa two copies,
and Valentin Ventura the original manuscript and an autographed printed copy.

Inspired by what the word filibustero connoted in relation to the circumstances

obtaining in his time, and his spirits dampened by the tragic execution of the three
martyred priests, Rizal aptly titled the second part of the Noli Me Tangere, El
Filibusterismo. In veneration of the three priests, he dedicated the book to them.

"To the memory of the priests, Don Mariano Gomez (85 years old), Don Jose
Burgos (30 years old), and Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years old). Executed in the
Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February, 1872."

"The church, by refusing to degrade you, has placed in doubt the crime that has
been imputed to you; the Government, by surrounding your trials with mystery and
shadows causes the belief that there was some error, committed in fatal moments;
and all the Philippines, by worshipping your memory and calling you martyrs, in no
sense recognizes your culpability. In so far, therefore, as your complicity in the
Cavite Mutiny is not clearly proved, as you may or may not have been patriots, and
as you may or may not cherished sentiments for justice and for liberty, I have the
right to dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake to combat.
And while we await expectantly upon Spain some day to restore your good name
and cease to be answerable for your death, let these pages serve as a tardy wreath
of dried leaves over one who without clear proofs attacks your memory stains his
hands in your blood."

Rizal’s memory seemed to have failed him, though, for Father Gomez was then 73
not 85, Father Burgos 35 not 30 Father Zamora 37 not 35; and the date of
execution 17th not 28th.
The FOREWORD of the Fili was addressed to his beloved countrymen, thus:

"TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE AND THEIR GOVERNMENT"

Manila (CNN Philippines Life) — José Rizal’s “Noli me Tangere” and “El
Filibusterismo” depicted the most important social ills that gripped Philippine society
under Spanish colonial rule. These novels were scathing critiques of friar domination
and corrupt governance. At the same time, Rizal showed in these works how some
Filipinos were complicit in the colonial enterprise: from middle-class professionals who
remained silent in the face of wrongdoings to ostensibly religious churchgoers who
perpetuated repressive social structures.

The "Noli" and "Fili" were not eye-openers in the sense that Filipinos during Rizal’s time
did not have to read about colonial abuses in a novel that was barely in circulation
(colonial authorities banned the book, and only a small number were smuggled into the
country) and written in a language that limited its accessibility to the educated elite —
such abuses were everywhere.

However, what made the novels powerful was the very act of writing; Rizal displayed
courage by publicizing his criticisms of colonialism at a time of intense repression
against dissent. He used his real name in his novels’ bylines and was not afraid to
return to the country to act on his political beliefs despite the certainty of reprisals from
state and church reactionaries. When he could have just stayed in Europe to further his
medical career or in Hong Kong to be with his family who was forced into exile, he
chose to practice what he preached. As he mentioned in one of his private
correspondences, the medicine must be brought to the sick man.

Contrary to popular misconception, for him, the arena of struggle was in organizing
Filipinos in the Philippines and not asking for piecemeal reforms from Spaniards in
Spain. It is not an exaggeration to say that his ideas fueled the revolution that gave us
independence from Spain less than two years after his execution.

How are Rizal’s works still relevant today

Rizal therefore remains relevant to 21st century Filipinos. Unfortunately, this also means
that many of the social ills he fought against continue to afflict Philippine society, more
than a century after his martyrdom. The unequal treatment of colonized nations is still
the predominant feature of neocolonialism, which is nothing but a rearrangement of old
colonial ties. Foreign powers, like the U.S., treat our archipelago as though it is its own
backyard that needs to be fortified from enemies, which explains the presence of
American troops through the Visiting Forces Agreement, Balikatan Exercises, and the
Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
At the same time, imperialist aggression by upstart colonizers like China has also
compromised the integrity of our national sovereignty, as it gobbles up islands and atolls
in the West Philippine Sea. Uncannily, Rizal’s warnings about dealing with established
and new colonial powers in his essay “The Philippines a Century Hence” are applicable
to this very day.

Meanwhile, the state attacks against dissent and democratic rights that Rizal saw in his
lifetime as he dealt with censorship, the guardia civil, and a sham justice system, seem
to have been replicated in the current Duterte administration: the judiciary’s
independence now in question due to the former CJ Maria Lourdes Sereno’s ousting
through quo warranto, the forces of our Philippine National Police roam the streets as
modern-day guardia civil that prey on the helpless in the guise of maintain peace and
order, and Spanish-era censorship has morphed into the disinformation of fake news
and attacks on press freedom.

Nonetheless, Rizal’s heroism is a testament that tyranny can never fully suppress
legitimate democratic aspirations. Although many remember Rizal for emphasizing the
importance of education and the intellectual growth of a society, what is often left
unmentioned is how he viewed knowledge not in terms of an individualistic pursuit of
greatness, enlightenment, or socioeconomic mobility, but in terms of its value to a
collective.

Rizal, an organizer of people

Rizal should not be viewed merely as the sole authorial figure in the novels that sparked
revolutionary ideas, but as an unwavering organizer of people. This side of Rizal is most
apparent in how he worked with fellow ilustrados in Europe to further the Propaganda
movement and Philippine scholarship, how he founded La Liga Filipina, an organization
that included the likes of Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini, in a short span of
time, and how he helped the residents of Dapitan improve basic services in their far-
flung community without the help of the colonial state.

He gave his most lavish praises to the young women of Malolos who decided that they
would take the initiative in establishing a night school for themselves so they could learn
the Spanish language despite stiff friar opposition. He even rallied the people in his
hometown in Calamba against the Dominicans’ abuse of their position as hacienda
owners.

At a time when expressions of democratic aspirations, especially among the middle

class, are more or less confined to social media posts and individual acts, Rizal’s life
should remind today’s Filipinos that actual organizing efforts, especially at the
grassroots level, are needed to achieve the changes we want to see in the country.
Rizal was aware that a single person cannot by himself carry the heavy load of
improving a society beset by corrupt social structures; he had to work with the likes of
Marcelo del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Antonio Luna, and Ferdinand Blumentritt.
More important, he made it a point to collaborate with ordinary folk, the townspeople of
Calamba and Dapitan for example, because he recognized that overturning such
corrupt social structures would not happen at the level of those occupying the topmost
social strata but from the people themselves desiring these changes.

Viewing Rizal as a model for a more progressive Philippines

Thus, the challenge for today’s educated Filipino middle class who regard Rizal as a
model is to shun this growing tendency to view the masses as lazy freeloaders but as
partners in forming a progressive Philippines.

As the economic squeeze created by policies of the present and past administrations
tightens, those of us who are most economically vulnerable will all the more resort to
radical measures: louder and bigger rallies against ‘endo’ and the TRAIN law, further
labor strikes and disputes such as in NutriAsia, more incidents of vacant and dilapidated
NHA housing being occupied by Kadamay members, Lumad fleeing ancestral lands to
escape militarization, and peasants joining the New People’s Army in the face of the
state’s hollow agrarian reform program.

What the haves view as parasitical, unethical, and unfair are desperate measures for
the have nots. As Rizal himself acknowledged in his classic essay “On the Indolence of
the Filipinos,” the Filipinos’ laziness is but a byproduct of the repressive social
structures that deny them the fruits of their labor.