Vernadeth M.

Coriento RIZL111
MD2YB-5 ACTIVITY #7: Finals

1. List down the vital characters of El Filibusterismo and discuss what their roles and
symbolisms were in the novel.

Simoun is an affluent jeweler who also happens to be the disguised, who wants to oust the
Spanish colonists. His persona stands for the nation's revolutionary spirit and aspiration for
independence, as well as the frustration and rage that the Filipino people felt toward the
oppressive Spanish colonial authority.

Basilio takes on the role of a pharmacist in El Filibusterismo and meets Simoun, who is one of
the few persons who is able to discern his genuine intentions. He has lived through the brutalities
of the Spanish colonial system and has seen his mother murdered by the dishonest local officials.
He represents for the optimism for change brought about by knowledge, intelligence, and
youthful idealism, as well as for the young Filipino generation that is committed to fight for its
country's independence and rights.

Kabesang Tales is a peasant who, due to injustices faced under the Spanish system, becomes
one of the leaders of the revolutionary forces. He symbolizes the impoverished farmers and their
fights against Spanish colonization.

Padre Florentino is a revered priest who is sympathetic to the desires of the Filipino people for
independence, as well as a wise and compassionate priest who serves as the moral compass in
the book. He represents the voice of reason and morality, the guiding principle of faith and
wisdom in seeking change, and he symbolizes the Filipinos' struggle to uphold their moral and
religious convictions in the face of Spanish oppression.

Don Custodio is the aspirational lawyer and government official who is more concerned with
accumulating fortune and power than he is with helping the populace. He symbolizes in for the
dishonest public servants who put their own interests ahead of the wellbeing of the populace.

2. If you could change any part of Rizal’s novel, what would you change and why?

If I could change anything about El Filibusterismo, I would change Simoun's character as doing
so would also alter the course of the narrative. Simoun led a miserable life because he was
blinded by vengeance and anger. Simoun may have pursued freedom and justice without being
driven by retaliation to kill those who had harmed him. His revolutionary strategy would
ultimately be successful, delivering democracy and freedom to the country.