TO THE NATIONAL HERO: A REFLECTION PAPER

           
The poem, To the National Hero, by Cecilio Apostol, is all about Jose
Rizal. It is a poem that gives honor to our national hero and to his death. It
shows Rizal's patriotism that even until death, he died for his country and even
wrote novels which exposed the abuses of the Spanish to the Filipinos. His
bravery was seen even though he didn't have a bolo with them but just a mere
pen for writing the truth in his time.
 
Upon reading the poem, I had a hard time understanding some of the
words because they all seemed to be unfamiliar. That's why I have to search for
every unfamiliar word to understand the meaning of the line. Also, the piece
given on the internet has missing lines, so I have to search for another website
that would provide the complete piece. Apart from this, I have fun reading it
and understanding it, though it is a bit confusing.
  
      I realized while reading the poem that you really have to understand the
words used in the piece so you can understand the whole one. The failure to
understand words may mean a failure to understand the totality of the poem. I
also realized that heroes really need to be acknowledged. For all their sacrifices
to give us freedom, even their lives, they offered. Their love for our country and
for our fellow Filipinos has pushed them to do things that they know are for the
good of all, and it really has paid off. We are now free from the control of other
races. We must give honor to them in a way we know, just like Cecilio did when
he acknowledged our national hero through his poem.
 
With the learning I got from the poem, I could use this in situations that I
know I will be in. For example, if I were given the task of making a poem
analysis, I would really try my best to understand every word so I would have a
better understanding of the whole piece. Not only in analyzing a poem, but
even texts, do I have to understand every unfamiliar word to be able to have a
deep understanding of the text. Also, I would acknowledge our heroes for all
their sacrifices by writing them poems, though I am not good. In a way that I
know, I would be happy to give honor to them because freedom was made true
because they took actions.