Task Performance in Rizal’s Life and Works
Introduction
Jose Rizal, full name Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo
Realonda, was born in Calamba, Philippines on June 19, 1861, and died
at Bagumbayan, Manila on December 30, 1896. He is a patriot,
physician, and writer who influenced the Philippine independence
movement. Rizal is the Philippines' national hero. He was the one who
inspired the Filipinos to launch a revolution against the Spanish
government in order to win independence and sovereignty of the
country. Rizal's only motto was to fight social injustice. He came to
popularity as the leader of the reformist movement known as
Propaganda, which launched an uncompromising campaign for political
and social liberties. He never stopped writing for La Solidaridad and
even created two novels to expose the injustices of the Spanish
colonials. Rizal made great sacrifices and fought for our liberation
by writing his famous poetry and novels, exposing the truth about the
excesses and wrongdoings of the Spanish priests, and opening the eyes
of every Filipino to what was going on. These events resulted in his
assassination, but he died a hero. It was a courageous gesture for him
to give up his life for an accusation and to be a role model in the
Filipino revolt.
The Republic Act 1425, often known as the Rizal Law, declares
that courses on Dr. Jose Rizal's life, works, and writings,
particularly the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, must be
included in the curricula of all public and private schools, colleges,
and universities. The essence of the Republic Act 1425 in developing
patriotism, nationalism, and volunteerism is that it allows students
to see Rizal's life. Perhaps in this easy approach, students would be
able to comprehend, learn, and even replicate Rizal's love for our
nation. The Rizal Law, enacted in 1956, aims to achieve the following
objectives: (1) To rededicate the lives of young people to the values
of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes lived and died; (2) To
honor our national hero for devoting his life and career to developing
the Filipino character. The law itself represents the hard effort of
our fellow citizens, namely Jose P. Laurel and Claro M. Recto, with
some minor figures, in arguing that studying these novels and the life
of our national hero will reignite our nationalism, which was once so
vibrant. I believe that the Rizal Law is very effective in instilling
patriotism, nationalism, and volunteerism among students because we
are encouraged to become better citizens, and when Dr. Rizal said,
"The Youth is the Hope of the Fatherland," it inspired those who heard
it to become more responsible and love our country.
If we talk about the dangers and sensitivities of Rizal's
writings, we can say that it deals with sensitive problems concerning
the church and its priests. That is why the church opposes the
implementation of Rizal law because it does not want the church's
image to be tarnished in the eyes of its supporters. On the other
hand, I believe we are old enough to know the facts and have our own
opinions regarding this subject. We need to know the truth and what
really happened in order to understand nationalism, patriotism, and
volunteerism, regardless of the sensitivities of Rizal's literatures.
We are meant to become more aware of the ideas that our country was
founded on by studying the lives of heroes such as Rizal.
Body
When studying history or literature, you can come across various
claims about what happened during a particular event. There are
assertions that can easily be believed because of their almost exact
information, but if you use literary criticism, you will discover that
their claims are not truly precise, and the data referenced have no
connection with each other. Critical methods for analyzing texts,
elaborating, and substantiating arguments are referred to as literary
criticism. A literary critic is someone who advocates for a certain
interpretation or understanding of the meaning of literary texts. A
literary critic's job is to explain and seek to reach a critical
knowledge of what literary texts signify in terms of aesthetic,
social, political, and cultural assertions, and suggestions.
Using literary criticism will assist you in understanding what a
claim is attempting to justify. Since it is supported by evidence,
your first response when reading stories about Rizal's life is to look
for the proof and see whether it matches what you know happened. We
are all aware that Jose Rizal is well-known in our country as well as
in other nations, thus many assertions will be made. To find out if
that assertion was true back then, you should use literary criticism
to avoid misinformation. Furthermore, it is critical that we, as
Filipinos, understand the true reality during Spanish colonization
because it is our own history. Literary criticism can be applied to
other events in our country's history as well. Knowing how to be a
literary critic can help you in every literary item you examine, and
you will not be easily deceived by misleading claims. You can also
share your understanding about it so that your acquaintance is aware
of proper information.
Jose Rizal's life has left a legacy that we should constantly
remember and pass on to future generations. As a result, future
generations will never forget how we obtained the independence we now
enjoy. We would not have this sort of freedom without the sacrifices
of Jose Rizal and other heroes of our country, because their
contributions to our country are priceless. If it weren't for them, we
may still be a colonized country of several nations since during the
Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Filipinos were viewed as
inferiors and subjected to severe inequalities, with little recourse.
His story reawakens Filipino nationalism, freeing Filipinos from
colonial mentalities and making students proud of their history. There
are times when you assume you know everything about him, but you will
quickly discover how naive you were to believe such things. The truth
is that what we have learnt from Rizal is only a single statement from
his entire life.
Conclusion
Our national hero is well-known for his ability to write literary
works such as novels and poems, and these literary works, particularly
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, had an impact on our lives. If
I had to deconstruct one of Rizal's literary works, I would pick Noli
Me Tangere since it is a fascinating novel and the first novel I have
learnt about Rizal's life. He was writing his first novel, Noli Me
Tangere, while studying in Europe. Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal is an
intriguing work for me since it depicts the violence and corruption of
Spaniards throughout their colonization time. He delivered a vivid and
realistic image of social situations in the Philippines using the
medium of literature. His writings highlighted how brutal and abusive
the Spaniards truly are in their treatment of the Filipino people.
Rizal wrote about every aspect of Spaniards as well as some Filipinos
who decided to imitate the Spaniards' lifestyle in order to obtain
power and influence over their fellow countrymen. It hurts to know
that our own men prefer to live like other nationalities rather than
oppose them together with the Indios. Despite this terrible reality
about our ancestors, there are still Filipinos who fight for their
rights and independence, just as Jose Rizal and other national heroes.
With that true-to-life story, I felt it necessary to learn every
detail of the Noli Me Tangere in order to comprehend why Filipinos
back then divided into opposing groups rather than working together to
oust the Spanish government.
Learning about our history can be boring, but it is necessary to
understand Jose Rizal's life because of his contribution to the
Philippines' freedom. He chose knowledge and the power of writing to
fight for his nation. He became aware of his countrymen's continuous
suffering at the hands of the Spaniards and sought to put an end to
it. His outstanding works Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
exposed the issues that the actual people of the Philippines faced
under Spanish control, as well as the need to take bold action to free
themselves from tyranny. We, the youth, will learn many things and be
inspired by Rizal's works. The idea of the pen is mightier than the
sword, and most importantly, his love for his nation. If all the youth
inherit this kind of concern and patriotism for the country, we will
undoubtedly have a never-ending cycle of dignified youths who will
soon be leaders of this country. Rizal was the one who encouraged his
generation and highlighted that the youth are our nation's hope. We
can learn a lot from Rizal's life, such as being conscious of what is
going on in our country and refusing to accept injustice in our
country. Rizal's law not only teaches us about our national hero's
life, but it also encourages us, especially youths, to practice
nationalism, patriotism, and volunteerism.