Vasquez, Mari Sheanne M.

September 13, 2022

BSN 4-A LWRIZAL
Sir Castilla S. Falconeri

Assignment

1. Who and what are the influences that shaped Rizal’s life?
- Many people or factors made a significant influence on Rizal’s life which as a
result shaped him as our national hero. First are his parents, who had the greatest
influence on Rizal’s development. His mother Teodora Alonso, who had been his
first instructor since he was a child, had a significant impact on Jose Rizal's
passion for arts and literature. His mother taught him how to read and write as
well as how to practice religion at a young age. On the other hand, his father
Francisco Mercado was his role model because of his work ethic and attitude
toward dealing with situations; as a result, as a young kid, he gradually developed
self-respect, enthusiasm for work, and independent thinking. Moreover, Paciano
Mercado acted as the second father of Rizal since their parents were no longer
able to care for them. He taught Rizal about freedom and the injustices that the
Spanish were committing against other Filipinos. As a result, Rizal felt motivated
to enlighten and express to as many people as possible the true importance of
having equal rights and justice. In this sense, it influenced Rizal’s advocacy of
justice and fairness. Lastly, Leon Monroy was Rizal's excellent mentor. He
improved Rizal's ability to learn the basics of how to read and write in Latin and
Spanish, in order to prepare him for school. The injustices of the Spaniards
provoked his patriotism and encouraged him to dedicate his life and abilities in
order for the Filipinos to have their freedom.

2. What are the human sides and weaknesses of Rizal, presented in the documentary
(film)?
- The documentary (film) narrates the human sides and weaknesses Rizal
experienced in order to keep his legacy of defending the Filipinos against the
 Spanish colonizers. The first instance is when the Spaniards took Rizal’s liberty
from writing. Since his writings revealed the injustices and inhumane exploitation
committed by the Spanish Government in the Philippines. As a result, the
government prohibited Filipinos from reading his writings. This prompted the
Filipino people to start a revolution against the Spanish Government in order to
gain independence and control of the country. In terms of his love life, Rizal was
clearly a hopeless romantic who wants to love and be loved in return but was
constrained by his sense of responsibility to his family and the country. Lastly, his
early death was caused by his writings that started a revolution in the Philippines
against the Spanish colonialists. Rizal’s works are inspirational because he wanted
the Filipino people to know the significance of patriotism and nationalism to one’s
country. He served as an example for the Filipino youth of the value of education
in terms of development and success.

3. If Rizal would be alive today, what do you think he would say about our present
society?
- If Rizal would be alive today, he certainly would have more negative rather than
positive things to say about the current situation of our country. First and
foremost, he would be very disappointed with the government officials that are
currently appointed, most especially President Bongbong Marcos. I believe that
he would not agree for the Marcos administration to run the government again.
The Marcos administration is known for its implementation of Martial Law,
which led to thousands of deaths of innocent Filipinos who fought for their own
freedom. Journalists have always aimed to be the voice of the people, bring
awareness to government crimes, and guard against injustice. However,
journalists have also been the targets of continuous assaults intended to prevent
them from telling the public the truth. The time of Martial Law was one of the
worst times for Filipino journalists. When Martial Law was in effect, Ferdinand
Marcos restricted the Filipino people their right to access accurate and factual
information. Television and radio stations, newspaper offices, and printing presses
were all shut down and prohibited. Marcos ordered the imprisonment of
journalists because he was extremely afraid of the media exposing the reality of
his corrupt leadership. Just like Jose Rizal, he is well-known for being a
propagandist. He became the Philippine national hero because of his way of
fighting the Spanish Government through his writings, novels, and such, which
exposed the abuses of the Spanish Government in the Philippines. As a result, the
government prohibited him from publishing his works which started many revolts
against the Spanish Government. For that reason, I believe that if Jose Rizal
would be alive today, he would most certainly start a reform movement against
our current government just like what he did with the Spanish government. He
would most likely educate people about the spread of fake news. Rizal fought for
the power of education and he, of all people, knew the value of factual
information. Therefore, he would most certainly encourage the Filipino people,
especially the youth to make their voices heard. He would inspire them to learn
the truth about our history because we have the right to know about what really
happened during the Marcos regime. In this way, people will be awakened to the
truth and will make the right choices of who to vote for in our country and not
make the same mistakes again in the next elections.