Book Report on Noli Mi Tangere

Book Report On Noli Me Tangere

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in Life and Works of Rizal

Submitted by: Georgia Louise Daganasol Jayby Sarmiento Ian Dominic Sy

Submitted to: Mr. Raymond Danico

March 20, 2013

I.

INTRODUCTION A.

TITLE

Noli Me Tangere B.

AUTHOR

José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, more so known as Dr. Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861. He was born to a wealthy family based in Calamba, Laguna and was 7th of the 11 children in their family. He earned a Bachiller en Artes diploma in Ateneo Municipal de Manila and studied Medicine at the University of Sto. Tomas. To further his studies in Medicine and finish his first Novel, he traveled to Europe and studied at Universidad Central de Madrid, in Madrid, Spain,which earned him a degree of Licentiate in Medicine, and later moved to Paris and Heidelberg, Germany to continue his studies. He became a prominent reformist in his time during the Spanish Colonial Era. He was chosen to be the leader of the Katipunan even without his knowledge and consent, which led to his execution on December 30,1896. He is considered the National hero of the Philippines, and today he is remembered in the celebration of the Rizal day every December 30. He was known a poet, essayist and novelist and 2 of his most famous works were Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. He was also a polymath, being an artist who is gifted in painting, sculpting, sketching and woodcarving. He was also a polyglot, being able to speak and communicate in twenty-two languages.

1

He was the founder of the civic organization called La Liga Filipina which later led to the formation of the KKK led by Andres Bonifacio, which started the Philippine Revolution against Spain. Rizal’s standpoint in achieving Philippine liberation is by means of restoring the dignity of its people through equality. It was believed that Rizal’s execution at Bagumbayan sparked the beginning of the Philippine Revolution. C.

PUBLICATION DETAILS The Novel was finished in December of 1886. Due to financial constraints, Rizal

thought the Novel might not be printed and it would remain unread. A financial aid came however, from Rizal’s friend, Maximo Viola, who helped him print his book in Berlin name Berliner Buchdruckerei-Aktiengesellschaft. Viola insisted on lending Rizal Php300 to cover for 2,000 Copies. The printing was finished earlier that the estimated time of five months. D. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PLOT Noli Me Tangere is a Novel written by Dr. Jose Rizal during the Spanish Colonial Era to expose the inequities of Spanish Catholic Priests and also the Government that ruled the Philippines during that same time. The title means ‘Touch Me Not’ in Latin. Early titles given to this novel were ‘An Eagle Flight’ and ‘The Social Cancer’. French writer D. Blumenstihl also notes that ‘Noli Me Tangere’ was a term used by ophthalmologists for cancer of the eyelids. E. BOOK’S POPULARITY AND CIRCULATION In 1992, After reading the novel, American writer Harold Augenbraum translated the novel having been acquainted to translating other Spanish Literary works. A 480-page then-latest English version of Noli Me Tángere was then released to major Australian book stores on August 21, 2007. The Australian edition of the novel was published 2

by Penguin Books Classics, to represent the publication's "commitment to publish the major literary classics of the world. For Numerous times, Noli Me Tangere was also adapted for film, theater and television and at the start of the 20th Century, Noli Me Tangere has been translated to some languages locally and internationally. II. SUMMARY OF THE TEXT Noli Me Tangere presents the ills in the Philippine society as well as ironies and injustices that had been happening at that time. Juan Crisostomo Ibarra, having just arrived from Europe, was welcomed with a get-together party thrown by a family friend, Kapitan Tiago, whose daughter is Ibarra’s sweetheart, Maria Clara. One of the guests in the party was Padre Damaso, who belittled and insulted Ibarra. The next day, the two lovers, Ibarra and Maria Clara meet, their long-standing love manifested clearly. Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Liutenant Guevarra reveals to him the incidents that preceded the death of his father, Don Rafael Ibarra. He told him that Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic and a subversive, as was brought up by Padre Damaso for not participating in the Church’s Sacraments, such as the mass and the confession. The aversion of Damaso on Don Rafael was further aggravated when he tried to help out a kid fighting with a tax collector, of whom the death of the latter was blamed on him although the events that happened was not done on purpose. Because of this, Ibarra’s father was then imprisoned and later died because of sickness. Having heard the account on his father’s death, Ibarra still did not aim for revenge. He instead chose to carry on with his father’s plan of putting up a school, since he believed that education is the key to the nation’s progress. During the school’s inauguration, Ibarra would have been killed, had not Elias, a mysterious man who warned Ibarra of the plot to assassinate him, saved him. After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a lunch, wherein Damaso gate-crashed and insulted him there again. Ibarra ignored the priest at first but when he slandered Ibarra’s father’s 3

death, Ibarra no longer was able to restrain himself and launch in preparation to stab the impudent priest. As a consequence, Damaso ex-communicated Ibarra and took the opportunity to persuade Kapitan Tiago to forbid his daughter from marrying Ibarra, but instead to marry the peninsular, Linares, who just arrived from Spain. Later on however, Ibarra’s ex-comminication was nullified with the help of the GovernorGeneral and was accepted as member of the church again. Meanwhile, while at a party at Kapitan Tiago was held to announce the engagement of Maria Clara and Linares, with the help of Elias, Ibarra, took the opportunity to escape prison. Ibarra also spoke with Maria Clara, accusing her that she betrayed him to the jury, which the latter explained that she was only forced to give Padre Salvi the letters Ibarra wrote to her in exchange of the letters written by her mother when she was born. Thinking that Ibarra was killed at a shooting incident, Maria Clara was overcome with grief and so she asked Damaso to comfine her into a nunnery. Reluctant as he is, Damaso agreed to her when she threatened to take her life if she will not be accepted to be a nun, not knowing that Ibarra was able to escape and it was Elias who took the shots that were meant for Ibarra. Fatally wounded, Elias woke up in the forest as it is where he would meet Ibarra, but instead, he found Basilio and his already-dead mother, Sisa. Elias then instructs Basilio to build a funeral and burn his and his mother’s body to ashes and if no one reaches the place, to come back later and dig the place for he will find gold. He then urged Basilio to go to school and continue with his life and dream about the freedom in the country. In the epilogue of the novel, it was noted that Kapitan Tiago became addicted to Opium and Maria Clara became a nun where Salvi, who has lusted after her since then, regularly used her for his pleasure. Also, one stormy evening, a beautiful, crazy woman was found at the top of the convent cursing about her ill-fate and though she was not identifie, it was hinted that the said woman was Maria Clara. III. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

4

Noli me Tangere can be considered a historical novel as the fictional characters such as father Burgos, lived in actual places within a social system that was then typical in a colonized land. Rizal exaggerated a bit, as in his portrayal of characters like the friars Damaso, Salvi, and Sibyla. The two women who were preoccupied with prayers and novenas and the espadanas but, on the whole, the novel follows the basic rules or realism. A.

THEME

.The theme of NOLI ME TANGERE was taken from the gospel of John. John tells that when Jesus showed Himself after the resurrection, it was first to Mary Magdalene. NOLI ME TANGERE or TOUCH ME NOT symbolizes one’s need for distance. The NOLI ME TANGERE also has a similar theme of longing and fulfillment.

He exposes

corruption and brutality of the civil guards which drive good men to crime and banditry.

He

focuses on administration crawling with self-seekers, out to make their fortune at the expense of Filipinos, so that the few officials who are honest and sincere are unable to overcome the treacherous workings of the system, and their efforts to help the country often end up in frustration or in self-ruin. The NOLI is Rizal's expose of corrupt friars who have made the catholic region an instrument of enriching and perpetuating themselves in power by seeking to mire ignorant Filipinos in fanaticism and superstition.

According to Rizal, instead of teaching Filipinos true

Catholicism, they control the government by opposing all progress and persecuting members of the illustrado unless they make themselves their sevile flatterers. B.

SYMBOLS ANALOGIES AND EXTERIOR REFERENCES

5

In the book, a lot of characters were presented directly or indirectly represent a real person in Rizal’s time. Crisostomo Ibarra, represents Rizal. They both have the same ideals of uplifting the Philippines and attaining freedom as a country through means other than revolting through physical combat. Also, both of them studied in Europe. Maria Clara on the other hand was based on Rizal’s childhood sweetheart Leonor Rivera. Sisa, Basilio and Crispin symbolize a Filipino family whose fate has fallen tragically in the hands of the Spanish authorities. They were persecuted for being the lowly citizens and evidently their rights have been deprived from them. IV. INDIVIDUAL REACTIONS The boldness of Rizal in exposing the sad truth that was happening in the country during his time is extraordinary. He knows the consequences of his actions for exposing the ills of the society brought about the by Spanish Catholic priests and government officials, yet he was able to take a stand to bring his message and open the eyes of the people to what is happening. Indeed Noli Me Tangere is like a mirror for the Philippine’s situation during the Spanish Colonial era and even up to this day. Although I might find some events in the novel exaggerated as characters were placed in situations that are very dramatically tragic, however, it still reflects the truth that happens in reality. Sadly, the truth is not as acceptable as injustices are so predominant especially on the part of the Filipino people. Spaniards have been so evidently using religion to achieve their personal desires and to also rise to power. It was a reflection of the unfortunate events that had been present in Rizal’s time brought about by the abuse of power by the Spaniards. -Georgia Louise Daganasol This novel was written to remind us the bad things that Jose Rizal experienced during his time by the Spanish. From the very start of this novel, the first plan of our national hero is, to write this novel with the help of his countryman that is also suffering to the hands of the Spanish, but suddenly he failed to do it with the help of his countryman, because his countryman lose their hope in fulfilling their dreams to have freedom in the hands of the Spanish colonies. Jose Rizal 6

did not give up, because he continue write this novel without the help of his countryman, and he decided to write it by himself only. The first chapter of this novel was entitled the paging, wherein, in this chapter stated the lifestyle of Don Santiago de los Santos also known as Kapitan Tiago, he was from Binondo and he was the step father of Maria Clara according to this chapter. In this chapter, the other characters was Padre sibyla, Padre Damaso, and Tenyente Guevarra. According to this chapter, Capitan Tiago invited the said characters to go to his house and have a simple gathering, but suddenly it came to a fight between Padre Damaso and Tenyente Guevarra because of the ereheng namatay. Padre Sibyla stops the rivalry between the two. The second chapter was entitled Ang binatang si Crisostomo. Where in in, this chapter, Kapitan Tiago present Don Crisostomo Ibarrato the priest, the son of his deceased friend named Don Rafael Ibarra. - Jayby G. Sarmiento I can say that I learned much about being a Filipino patriot but he sized abroad and the progress or growth of the independence of our country and how basically ignored the lack of dominance in our country. Noli me Tangere shows the love of the mother to child, the love of men to women and the love of country. Here I also learned that government was blinded by money. This shows the significance of love between Maria Clara and Crisostomo the true romance wasn’t lost. You can also learn how to value the love of the mother to child like Crispin and Basilio, a mother is willing to do sacrifice everything for the sake of her children. Truly powerful love, it can add colors to people who have miserable lives. I also read here that money circulating in our Society then, if you have no money you’re treated as reject and from then until now money can cover your sins, and if you are poor you do

7

not serve your society like you have a life dead means you're still alive but if you have no money you think your dead already. - Ian Dominic Sy V. SUMMARY OF POINTS First point we would like to stress based on our reactions on the Novel is that Rizal has created the novel to serve as a reflection of the ills in the society brought about by the unjust governance of the Spanish authorities and clergy. They have been using religion to their own advantage and abusing their power and authority to discriminate the lowly Filipino citizens who will always be at the losing end. Another point is that money and social status are very powerful things at that time and even up to this day. With money, one can bend the truth and a high social status would make one influential. VI. CONCLUSION Noli Me Tangere is a direct reflection of the Philippine Society. Its timeless message is still applicable in today’s time although this has been written for over a hundred years now. The issue of equality is something that we are yet to achieve. Although some may claim that we are in a democratic country and everyone has equal rights, some people still emerge superior among others and usually it’s still the rich and powerful individuals who are given more significant ideals and decisions in today’s society.

8