CHAPTER 1

“ON THE UPPER DECK”

A REFLECTON PAPER

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

In the Subject GE1804
Rizal’s Life and Works

To be Submitted to

Mr. Leslie Jhon N. Nagamos

Submitted by

IGUIN, Jerricho R.

DELA CRUZ, John Vhern Millor T.

Date of Submission: 30, NOVEMBER, 2022

 ABSTRACT

Noli Me Tangere's events took place thirteen years ago. We are greeted by familiar faces at the beginning

of El Filibusterismo and introduced to some new ones as well as one who seems to be new. The steamer

Tabo (a dipper) makes its way up the Pasig river one December morning. On its upper deck is Dona

Victorina, traveling in search of her husband Don Tiburcio, who has fled from her abuse. On deck too are

Don Custodio, the writer Ben-Zayb and Padres Salvi, Sibyla, Irene and Camorra, and the steamer’s

captain. Also present is the jeweler Simoun, conspicuous for his long white hair and large blue

sunglasses. He is reputed to have advisory influence over the Captain-General.

The group fall into discussing the winding path of the river. Simoun suggests digging a new canal straight

from the mouth of the river passing Manila, and closing old Pasig. To achieve this, he further suggests the

destruction of towns, using prisoners as laborers to eliminate the cost, and increasing forced labor among

men and boys. Don Custodio and Padre Sibyla bring up the possibility of uprisings, which Simoun

sharply dismisses, as he leaves the group to head below deck.

Chapter 1: On The Upper Deck Ben Zayb, an exceedingly intelligent (in his own

The novel opens with the steamship Tabo mind) writer whose pseudonym is an anagram of

heading up the Pasig river on its way to La Laguna the surname Ybañez; Father Irene, the canon; and

one December morning. Take note of the possible the jeweller Simoun who sports long, white hair and

parallelism between the ship and the government a sparse black beard and who wears a pair of huge

ruling in the Philippines during Rizal’s time: full blue-tinted sunglasses. Simoun’s great influence

of hot air, tyrannical, pretentious. over His Excellency, the Capitan-General was

We meet Doña Victorina, the only lady in known in Manila. Thus, people held him in high

the European group on the upper deck (guess who regard.

have to stay below deck). She is depicted as a foul- Discussing the issue of the lake and the slowness of

mouthed, extravagant, heavily made-up, ship travel were Ben Zayb, Padre Camorra, and

disdainful, and insufferable Indio who tries to pass Padre Salvi, a Franciscan. Simoun cuts in and offers

herself off as a European through her wigs and a rather radical solution: dig a new river channel

clothes. She is accompanied by her niece, the and close the Pasig even if it means destroying

beautiful and rich Paulita Gomez. Doña Victorina villages and committing people to forced and

is the wife of Don Tiburcio de Espadaña, who left unpaid labor.

her after many years of marriage and who was What follows is a debate between Simoun and Don

now hiding (maybe) in Laguna. Among the other Custodio on whether the indios were going to revolt

characters introduced are: Don Custodio, an or not. Padre Sibyla, a Dominican, was concerned

official counsellor; that the people might rise up as before, but Simoun
dismissed the possibility with a what are you friars El Felibusterismo is the kingdom of greed, the

for if the people can rise in revolt? second novel written by Filipino national hero José

After Simoun left the fuming group, Don Custodio Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli me tangere and, like

offers his own solution: Get people to raise ducks. the first book, is written in Spanish. It was first

Since ducks feed on snails, the people will help published in 1891 in Ghent. The novel revolves

deepen the river as they will remove or dig up the around the protagonist of the Noli-El fili duology,

sandbars which contain the snails. Doña Victorina Chrysostom Ibarra, who now returns to take his

wasn’t exactly fond of the idea since she considers revenge as "Simoun". El fili's dark

balut (duck) eggs disgusting. theme deviates dramatically from the hopeful and

Implied Topic Covered in this Chapter romantic feel of the previous novel, alluding

The message of the novel is clear: the to Ibarra's resort to solving his country's problems

present system of governing the Philippines through by violent means, after his previous attempts to

corrupt and self-seeking officials, dominated by the reform the country's system failed and they seemed

friars and being submissive to their interests in one impossible with the corrupt attitudes of

fashion or another, can only lead to disaster for the Spaniards. towards the Filipinos. The novel,

Spain. along with its predecessor, was banned in parts of

The manner the ship is divided into two the Philippines due to its depictions of

sections -- the upper and the lower deck -- is similar Spanish government abuse and corruption. These

to how the government treats the people: rich and novels along with Rizal's involvement in

poor, Spaniards and Indios -- without equality and organizations aimed at

fair treatment. The slow pace of ship travel is addressing and reforming the Spanish system and

likened to the country's slow progress despite 300 its problems led to Rizal's exile to Dapitan

years of Spanish rule. Whitewashed walls that cover and his eventual execution. The novel and its

rust and dirt symbolize the pretense behind ugly predecessor, along with Rizal's last poem, are now

methods and social unrest in the country. The considered Rizal's literary masterpieces. Rizal's two

circular design of the steamer entails that the novels have had a profound impact on Filipino

government is going in circles, without a sensible society in terms of views on national identity, the

goal or purpose. The use of modern machinery to Catholic faith and its influence on Filipino choices,

power the steamboat is indicative of the union of and issues of corruption, abuse and discrimination

the Church and state during that time. of the government and, to a greater extent, those

Interpretation During Junior High School associated with issues related to the impact of

According to what is discussed in my colonization on people's lives and the cause of

previous school during high school,  independence. These novels later became an

indirect inspiration to launch the Philippine

Revolution. In the Philippines, reading of the novel

predecessor is now compulsory for high school These two novels exposed the misdeeds of the

students across the archipelago, although it is now Spanish government. It showed how badly the

read in English, Filipino, and regional languages of Spanish brothers and officials treated us. He chose

the Philippines. the Sucesos because he "considered it important to

Personal Reflection evoke the testimony of a famous Spaniard who, at

In our perspective EL FILIBUSTERISMO the beginning of her new period, governed the

the central message of Dr. Jose Rizal's novel, El fortunes of the Philippines and lived the last

Filibusterismo, perfectly encapsulates our moments of our historical identity" after reading

contemporary society. Rizal's novel accurately much of the literature. on the Philippines. His works

depicted self-serving government officials as Friars. are proof of our love for our country. He spent his

We could see in the novel how those in power knowledge to help our country by writing novels

abused their position to gain favors and satisfy their and poems to keep us in the constitution of the

lust. In El Filibusterismo, officials tried to preserve country. Rizal may not know how to use a bolo or a

a monopoly for education. This meant that not physical weapon, but he only fought with a pen.

everyone had an equal opportunity to improve Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are Rizal's

themselves through education. Rizal demonstrated famous works. These two books have many

that those in power prefer to rule over the similarities and differences. . Another similarity is

uneducated. In summary, Rizal's message through that they both deal with Spanish oppression of

El Filibusterismo was simple: he wanted Filipinos Filipinos, abuse of power by the Church, and

to have a better life. As a result, Rizal wrote El prejudice against Filipinos. Noli me Tangere and El

Filibusterismo to demonstrate to his countrymen Filibusterismo both have an anti-clerical, even anti-

that proper education and a decent standard of Catholic tone to their voices. They only broadcast

living are attainable for all. However, he one story because the latter is promoted as a sequel

emphasized that in order to achieve the freedom he or continuation. These two works urged Filipinos to

envisioned, we must all work together as a country fight for their freedom and stand up for their rights.

to combat the injustices in our society. Noli me Tangere urges the Filipino to rebuild self-

Comparison confidence, recognize their worth, return to their

The difference between the two is that Rizal ancestral history, and proclaim that they are aligned

wrote two works, Noli Me Tangere and El with the Spanish. El Filibusterismo, on the other

Filibusterismo, to show how Filipinos were hand, aimed to enlighten the society by bringing

enslaved by Spain. Rizal founded the League of the Filipinos closer to the truth, opening their eyes to

Philippines to organize the country's first reform reality, and fighting against the oppressive and

movement and gain independence from Spain. brutal Spanish government. Overall, it is the novel

that
has encouraged Filipinos to fight for their

independence and rights.

References: Access to this page has been

denied. (n.d.-b).

https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/

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What does el filibusterismo mean? (n.d.).

https://www.definitions.net/definition/el

+filibusterismo

El Filibusterismo: Summary and Analysis of

Chapter 1 (On the Upper Deck). (2022).

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‌Villa, N. (2020, June 13). El Filibusterismo

Chapter Summaries 1-5 in English | Jose

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