Noli Me Tangere

Lesson 7
Lesson 7
 Jose Rizal’s first novel, Noli Me Tangere,
is considered one of the most important
written outputs by the national hero at the
height of his intellectual endeavors in
Europe.
 Greatly influenced by Harriet Beecher
Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Rizal wanted
to publish a book that would play a crucial
role in the political history of the country.
THE
PUBLICATION
OF THE NOLI
 As a sojourner in Europe, Rizal participated in the
movement of the illustrados to utilize propaganda to
campaign from reforms in the Philippines.

The idea of publishing a book was not alien to

Rizal. In a meeting of the illustrados in 1884, he
proposed to write a book project to be done
collaboratively with his fellow writers.
He started work on the project in 1884 and completed in 1887.Many of his biographers
cite several works that influenced Rizal in the writing of the Noli. One of these is Juan
Luna’s painting, Spolarium, which depicted the sufferings faced by the humanity in the
face of inequalities. Another is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe
that dealt with slavery in America.

The novel was published the following year in Germany. Lack of funds delayed the
book’s publication until a fellow illustrado , Maximo Viola, insisted on lending him
300 pesos for the printing of the first 2,000 copies. By 1887, Rizal was already
sending out copies of the Noli to his friends and the book began to take flight.
THE WRITING PROCESS
 Writing his works in 3 years, Rizal wrote his novel
during his travels from Madrid and Paris before finally
finishing it for publication in Berlin, Germany. But
during the final revision of the book in Berlin, at the
bleak winter of 1886, Rizal was afflicted with sickness
and out of money. Hungry, sick, and penniless, Rizal
thought he would not be able to print the novel
February 21, 1887

With Viola’s help, the Noli Me Tangere was finished,

with the exclusion of certain passages, including the
chapter of “Elias at Salome” and was ready for printing.
March 21, 1887

The novel came off with a P300.00 cost of printing for

2,000 copies printed at Berliner Buchdruckerei-
Aktiengesellschaft, the cheapest printing shop in Berlin.
In a letter Rizal sent to Ferdinand
Blumentritt, he described his
expectations from the novel once it was
in circulation. He pointed out his
primary objectives which are:
RIZAL’S OBJECTIVES
a. to defend Filipino people from foreign accusations of foolishness and
lack of knowledge;
b. to show how the Filipino people live during the Spanish colonial
period and the cries and woes of his countrymen against abusive
officials;
c. to discuss what religion and belief can do to everyday lives; and
d. to expose the cruelties, graft, and corruption of the false government
to honestly show the wrongdoings of Filipinos that led to further
failure
MAIN CHARACTERS AND WHAT THEY REPRESENT

Along with the plot, setting, and events in the book, Noli Me
Tangere also provides the biggest symbolism of the Filipinos
and other significant people in the Philippines during the 19th
century through its characters. In this section, we will review
these important characters and their representation in the
novel.
 As the main character of the novel, many
claimed that Crisostomo Ibarra represents
Jose Rizal himself. He has a liberal mind,
outspoken and idealistic, and a patient
and serious man. Throughout the story, it
can be seen that Ibarra symbolizes the
CRISOSTOMO IBARRA
idealism of the privileged youth.
She is Ibarra’s fiancé and the most beautiful and
widely celebrated girl in San Diego. Throughout
the story, Maria Clara was portrayed as a religious
woman, a faithful sweetheart, a good friend, and
an obedient daughter. She had childish simplicity.
She gets easily nervous. Her character is related
to Rizal’s childhood sweetheart, Leonor Rivera.
She symbolizes the purity and innocence of a
sheltered native woman. MARIA CLARA DELOS
SANTOS Y ALBA OR “MARIA
CLARA”
 He is a Franciscan friar and the
former parish curate of San Diego.
He is notorious for speaking with
harsh words, highhandedness, and
cruelty during his ministry in the
town. He symbolizes the Spanish
friars of Rizal’s time
PADRE DÁMASO DÁMASO
VERDOLAGAS, OR “PADRE
DÁMASO”
She is the wife of the Alferez of San
Diego, who pretends not to know
Tagalog and often uses Spanish
words even if she does not
understand the meaning. She
symbolizes the Filipinos in our
society who are ashamed of their
race and nationality. DOÑA CONSOLACION
 She is an ambitious Filipina who
classifies herself as Spanish and
mimics Spanish ladies by putting
on heavy make-up. An ambitious
Filipina. She symbolizes those
who have a distorted view of
their identity.
DOÑA VICTORINA DE LOS REYES DE
ESPADAÑA, COMMONLY KNOWN AS
“DOÑA VICTORINA”
Or also called “Tacio de Loco” (Tacio
the Insane), he is a pessimist who
sought for reforms from the government
and hoped for the future generations to
realize the abuse and oppression done
by the conquerors. Rizal relates this
character to his oldest brother, Paciano
Rizal. He symbolizes the learned
DON ANASTACIO, ALSO KNOWN
Filipinos. BY HIS NAME “PILOSOPO TASYO”
 The mother of Maria Clara. She
was once a young, healthy, and
beautiful woman. By nature, she was
a very merry woman but became
melancholic when repeatedly raped.
Pia Alba represents the women who
had been abused by the clergy and
had been silenced by their shame.
PIA ALBA
 This family
represents the Filipino
family persecuted by
SISA, CRISPÍN, AND
the Spanish authorities.
BASILIO
 Sisa, named after Rizal’s
older sister, is the deranged
mother of Basilio and
Crispín. She personified the
suffering of the motherland.
NARCISA OR “SISA”
 They are Sisa’s 7-year-old and 10-year-old sons that
are tasked to ring the church bells for Angelus as an
acolyte. In the story, Crispin was unjustly accused of
stealing money from the church and was killed after
not admitting to his crimes. Basilio, on the other
hand, faced the dreadful death of his young brother as
well as the descent of his mother into insanity. They
represented the innocent who was wrongly accused of
crimes they did not commit. Their story was based on
the true tale of the Crisostomo brothers of Hagonoy
CRISPÍN AND
BASILIO
Elías is Ibarra's mysterious friend and ally.
Intending to revolutionize the country and be
free from the Spanish oppression because of
the horrible experiences his family had, Elías
distrusts human judgment and prefers God’s
justice instead. He prefers a revolution over
the reforms. He represents the common
Filipino. He is said to be the personification
of Andres Bonifacio.
ELÍAS
 As Ibarra’s father, he symbolized a rich landlord with a
social conscience. He was sent to jail after helping a
boy from an abusive Spanish tax collectorAs Ibarra’s
father, he symbolized a rich landlord with a social
conscience. He was sent to jail after helping a boy
from an abusive Spanish tax collector. Indeed, the
novel’s characters represent the various kinds of
people inhabiting the country during the period of
Rizal’s life. the country during the period of Rizal’s
DON RAFAEL IBARRA life.
 NOLI ME TANGERE,
CONTINUING RELEVANCE
 The success of Rizal’s novel also rests on its
timelessness in terms of present-day social issues
and political/economic realities. In this chapter,
Noli’s legacy and continuing relevance will be
explained as a text not only in the field of literature
but also in the areas of history and the social
sciences.
NOLI AND THE STUDY
OF A COLONIAL
SOCIETY
 A remarkable aspect of Rizal’s Noli lies
in its text which espoused the national
hero's articulations of a social-scientific
view of the nineteenth century Philippines
he was describing.
Sociologist Syed Fareed Alatas even went as far
as describing Rizal as "probably the first
systematic social thinker in Southeast Asia.
"Taken together with Rizal's other writings, the
Noli makes an important contribution to the
understanding of a colonial society and of the
workings of the Spanish empire in the
Philippines.
 In the Noli, Rizal highlighted some of his ideas or:
how-the Philippine society could be emancipated from
the bondage of colonial rule.
He underscored the importance of education as a
powerful tool to achieve progress.
 However, heal so exposed the complexities and constraints
wrought by the colonial condition not only on the foreigners, but also
on some misguided Filipinos that contributed to the ills of society.
As Rizal exposed the vile realities of the context he wrote about, he
also emphasized the good qualities of the Filipinos, which needed to
be harnessed in order to succeed in the struggle for emancipation.
had