Noli me Tangere

Paola Mikaela S. AlpayRizza Mae V. Salvania

BACKGROUND● Berlin, Germany● February 21, 1887● In Latin: “touch me not”● Title was taken from John 20:17

o Jesus said to her: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brothers, and say to them, I ascend to my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”

● Originally written in Spanish

INSPIRATIONS● Harriet Beacher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which is

about the injustices experienced by Negros; the cruelty and violence imposed by the whites on them.

● Rizal used this to compare the present situation of the Filipinos under the rule of the Spaniards

INSPIRATIONS● In the house of Pedro Paterno in Madrid on 2 January

1884● Rizal proposed the writing of a novel about the

Philippines written by a group of Filipinos. ● Approved by the Filipinos present at the party (Pedro

Paterno, Maximino Viola and Antonio Paterno, Graciano López Jaena,Evaristo Aguirre, Eduardo de Lete, Julio Llorente and Valentin Ventura)

INSPIRATIONS● The people who agreed to help Rizal with the novel did not write

anything ● 3 Reasons for this failure

1. Ningas-Kugon2. They preferred other topics- women3. Gambling and Women

● So Rizal pulled out of the plan of co-writing with others and decided to draft the novel alone

THE PUBLISHING● 1884- First half of the novel written in Madrid, Spain while Dr. Jose

Rizal was studying medicine.● 1885- Half of the second half in Paris● 1886- Finished last quarter in Germany

THE PUBLISHING● Rizal feared the novel might not be printed due to financial

constraints- attempted to throw it into flames● Financial aid from Máximo Viola● Berliner Buchdruckerei-Aktiengesellschaft in Berlin. ● ₱300 for 2,000 copies. ● Viola arrived in Berlin in December 1886, and by March 21, 1887,

Rizal had sent a copy of the novel to his friend, Blumentritt.

● Rizal's book persistently unmasks contemporary Spaniards in the Philippines of every kind.

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

● He focuses on an administration crawling with self-seekers, out to make their fortune at the expense of the Filipinos

● 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.

OVERVIEW

● The Noli exposed the corrupt friars who have made the Catholic religion an instrument for 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 ilustrado unless they make themselves their servile flatterers.

OVERVIEW

● Rizal does not, however, spare his fellow countrymen. o The superstitious and hypocritical fanaticism of many who consider

themselves religious people; o The ignorance, corruption, and brutality of the Filipino civil guards; o The passion for gambling unchecked by the thought of duty and

responsibility; o The servility of the wealthy Filipino towards friars and government officials;o The ridiculous efforts of Filipinos to dissociate themselves from their

fellowmen or to lord it over them--all these are ridiculed and disclosed.

OVERVIEW

● Rizal nevertheless highlighted the virtues and good qualities of his unspoiled countryman:

o The modesty and devotion of the Filipinao The unstinting hospitality of the Filipino family, o The devotion of parents to their children and children to their parents,o The deep sense of gratitude, and● It calls on the Filipino to recover his self-confidence, to appreciate his

own worth, to return to the heritage of his ancestors, and to assert himself as the equal of the Spaniard.

● It insists on the need of education, of dedication to the country, and of absorbing aspects of foreign cultures that would enhance the native traditions."

OVERVIEW

COVER● CROSS- sufferings ● POMELO BLOSSOMS AND LAUREL

LEAVES- honor and fidelity● SILHOUETTE OF A FILIPINA- Maria Clara ● BURNING TORCH- rage and passion ● SUNFLOWERS- enlightenment ● BAMBOO STALKS THAT WERE CUT DOWN

BUT GREW BACK- resilience ● A MAN IN A CASSOCK WITH HAIRY FEET-

priests using religion in a dirty way ● CHAINS- slavery ● WHIPS- cruelties ● HELMET OF THE GUARDIA CIVIL- arrogance

of those in authority

COVER● At the top: all that is best in Philippine

life: o woman (constancy)o tombstone (religious faith) o laurel (courage) o flower of the pomelo(purity)

● The words partly covered by the title are the secret, inner dedication by Rizal to his parents

o 'In writing...thinking...always...it was you who implanted in me...the first ideas...this manuscript...proof of love.'

COVER● To the left of the title: the flower

mirasol (youth seeking the sun)● The author's name, meaning the

green of renewal, mounting up into the green of the most enduring of all Philippine trees, the bamboo.

● At the bottom, all that is worst in Philippine life: the helmet of the Civil Guard, the whip and instruments of torture, and the foot of a friar.

PREFACE● to reproduce the condition (of the country) faithfully, without

discrimination● “I will strive to reproduce thy condition faithfully, without

discriminations; I will raise a part of the veil that covers the evil…”  ● He clearly stated his intention of giving an accurate picture of the

conditions in the Philippines at the time

PLOTIBARRA'S HOMECOMING● The story revolves around Crisostomo Ibarra returning home after seven years in

Europe and filled with ideas on how to better the lot of his countrymen. ● An old family friend, Capitan Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos), an affluent

resident of Binondo, hosts a dinner to welcome him home. ● Doña Victorina, Padre Sibyla and Padre Damaso, ● Padre Damaso first snubs then insults the young man, refusing to acknowledge his

friendship with his father, Don Rafael Ibarra because he thinks that Don Rafael is a heretic for not going into confession.

● Finally, Ibarra can no longer take his insults, and graciously excuses himself, pretending he has to attend to an important matter.

● Lieutenant Guevarra illuminates Ibarra regarding the events preceding his death.● Ibarra goes to see María Clara (Suyuan sa Asotea)

PLOTINCIDENTS IN SAN DIEGO● Ibarra then goes to San Diego to see his father's grave at the Catholic cemetery and

finds it has been disturbed because Padred Dámaso ordered to transfer the corpse in a Chinese cemetery but ended up throwing it in the lake.

● Meanwhile, Crispín and Basilio, are accused of stealing from the church. Sisa, then, goes mad and wanders the town.

● The town schoolmaster tells Ibarra he was discouraged by the curate from using the new teaching methods that he found effective.

● They went fishing then have a picnic on his property. They found a large crocodile which Elias tried to capture but is attacked by the creature. Ibarra goes to his aid, saving his life.

● During the picnic, Ibarra learns two things: the authorities have approved his plan to put up a school and the mysterious boatman he saved is a man named Elías, who is wanted by the Civil Guard for assaulting a priest.

PLOTRUN-INS WITH AUTHORITIES● Ibarra discusses his plans with PilosopoTasio. He has decided to put up the school as a

tribute to his father's belief that the education of the people would lead to the country's liberation. Tasio supports his noble objectives but warns him he must win over the authorities to have a chance of success.

● During the school's inauguration, there is an attempt to kill Ibarra but Elías saves him. ● Ibarra hosts a dinner afterwards, Padre Dámaso among the invited. Dámaso again

insults him and his father. In a rage, Ibarra grabs him, holding a knife at his throat. But María Clara stops him from doing any further violence. Greatly upset, María Clara becomes ill with a fever. Ibarra gives her a medicine which cures her, but she remains weak for some time afterward.

● Ibarra is excommunicated for assaulting Dámaso. Because of this disgrace, Dámaso is able to persuade Capitán Tiago to forbid his daughter from marrying Ibarra and consider Linares instead.

PLOTRUN-INS WITH AUTHORITIES● Elías tries to convince Ibarra at this point to lead a revolt, but Ibarra

insists that reform, never revolt, is the answer to the country's ills. ● The Captain General lifted the excommunication but soon afterward,

Ibarra is accused by Padre Salví of being a subversive. Hearing of this, Elías goes to warn him and together they go over the Ibarra family papers so they can discard anything that appears incriminating. This scene became the key in finding out the relationship between Ibarra’s and Elias’ ancestors.

● Ibarra is arrested and imprisoned.

PLOTTHE ESCAPE● Ibarra, having escaped from prison with the help of Elías, goes to see

María Clara one last time before leaving the country. ● Ibarra and Elias continue their flight by boat. ● María Clara hears that Ibarra was killed and is so overcome with grief that

she begs Padre Dámaso to confine her in a nunnery, saying: The nunnery or death! 

● It is Christmas Eve when Elías arrives at the Ibarra forest and meets Basilio, who had just come back to the town to find his mother. Sadly, Sisa died soon after she recognized her son.

● Elías asks Basilio to burn his body, along with Sisa's, upon his death. He then dies lamenting not having seen the liberation of his country.

CHARACTERS1. Crisóstomo Ibarra● Mestizo son of Filipino businessman Don Rafael Ibarra● studied in Europe for seven years.● María Clara's fiancé● Rizal's reflection

CHARACTERS2. María Clara● Ibarra's love interest and the most beautiful and widely celebrated

girl in San Diego.● Leonor Rivera● A devout Catholic, she became the epitome of virtue, "demure and

self-effacing" and endowed with beauty, grace and charm● Although praised and idolised, María Clara's chaste, "masochistic"

and "easily fainting" character had also been denounced as the "greatest misfortune that has befallen the Filipina in the last one hundred years"

CHARACTERS● Maria Clara did not really resolve the conflicts within her; she

chose to escape, by entering the convent as a nun.  ● Many had used the convent as an escape from a world that could

not give them happiness or the fulfilment they crave.

CHARACTERS3. Capitan Tiago● Father of Maria Clara● ‘Good’ Catholic● Married Pia Alba of Sta. Cruz● Capitan Tiago was a typical character during the time of Jose Rizal. ● He is a rich native-born Filipino who rubbed elbows with the

powers that be during that time. ● He symbolizes the rich Filipinos who oppress their fellow

countrymen in exchange for the influence and the riches that they might gain from their powerful associations.

CHARACTERS4. Padre Damaso● Franciscan friar and the former parish curate of San Diego. ● A cruel priest who uses harsh words● He is the real father of María Clara ● At the end of the novel, he is again re-assigned to a distant town

and is found dead one day.● He symbolizes the Spanish friars of Rizal's time and is a comment

on the Spanish control of the Philippines● The fat, corrupt friar is not Rizal's Fray Damaso, but Graciano

Lopez Jaena's Fray Botod.”

CHARACTERS5. Elias● Ibarra's mysterious friend and ally. Elías made his first appearance

as a pilot during a picnic of Ibarra and María Clara and her friends. ● He wants to revolutionize the country and to be freed from Spanish

oppression.● He distrusts human judgment and prefers God's justice instead. ● He is acquainted with the tulisanes and other crooks, which he

uses to his advantage in discerning the troubles of the town.● He prefers a revolution over the reforms that Ibarra has been

inclined to believe in.

CHARACTERS● Although his education is minimal, the injustices that has befallen

his family have enlarged and sharpened his intellect and made him hate the social conditions around him.

● Elias represents the common Filipino who is not only aware of the injustices done to their countrymen but would also like to deliver them from their oppressors.

CHARACTERS6. Pilosopo Tasyo● Seeking for reforms from the government, he expresses his ideals

in paper written in a cryptographic alphabet similar from hieroglyphs and Coptic figures hoping "that the future generations may be able to decipher it" and realized the abuse and oppression done by the conquerors.

● He embodies the intelligent people, who never left the country but instead educated themselves in a religious institution.

CHARACTERS7. Doña Victorina● ambitious Filipina who classifies herself as Spanish and mimics

Spanish ladies by putting on heavy make-up.● During her younger days, she had a lot of admirers but turned them

all down because none of them were Spaniards● Married Don Tiburcio and they never had children● Don Tiburcio illegally practices medicine● It may be said that she symbolizes the Filipinos in our society who

are ashamed of their own race and nationality.

CHARACTERSSisa, Crispín, and Basilio● They represent a Filipino family persecuted by the Spanish authorities.

8. Sisa ● the deranged mother of Basilio and Crispín. ● Described as beautiful and young, although she loves her children very

much, she can not protect them from the beatings of her husband, Pedro.

● Sisa is being maltreated by the Spaniards; similarly, our country is being abused by the Spaniards.

● The tragic events that ruined her life represented the abuse that our country received from the colonizers.

CHARACTERS9. Crispín● Sisa's 7-year-old son. An altar boy, he was unjustly accused of stealing

money from the church. ● Father Salví and the head sacristan ● represents the innocents who have been wrongly accused of the crime

they did not commit. The injustice they suffered under the hands of the authorities during their time were silenced by their deaths and the cover-ups that follow it.

Basilio ● Sisa's 10-year-old son. he faced the dread of losing his younger brother

and falling of his mother into insanity.

CHARACTERS10. Padre Hernando de la Sibyla ● a Dominican friar● He is instructed by an old priest in his order to watch Crisóstomo

Ibarra.● Padre Sibyla symbolizes the liberal friar but would rather stay in the

background rather than incur the wrath of other priests in power. He is aware of the injustices done to the natives but would not do anything to change it, as all he cares about is getting his congregation in power.

CHARACTERS11. Padre Bernardo Salví● the Franciscan curate of San Diego, secretly harboring lust for

María Clara. ● He is described to be very thin and sickly. ● The one behind the plot to kill Ibarra in the construction site of the

school. ● It is also hinted that his last name, "Salvi" is the shorter form of

"Salvi" meaning Salvation, or "Salvi" is short for "Salvaje" meaning bad hinting to the fact that he is willing to kill an innocent child, Crispin, just to get his money back, though there was not enough evidence that it was Crispin who has stolen his 2 onzas.

NOTESChapter 1: Isang Pagtitipon● Ang bahay ni Kapitan Tiyago ay itinulad ni Rizal sa Pilipinas na bukas

sa mga interesadong dayuhan, ngunit hindi sa sariling komersiyo, na siyang dahilan kung bakit ang ekonomiya ng bansa magmula pa sa panahong ng Espanya ay kontrolado ng mga dayuhan (Ongoco).

● Isa pang katangian ng Pilipinas ay ang hindi nito bukas sa mga makabago at mapangahas na kaisipan. Ginamit ni Rizal na pambungad ang nasabing mga salita dahilan sa ang kaniyang nobela ay isang mapangahas na akda na susuri sa kabuuan ng lipunang Pilipino, sa kahinaan ng kolonyal na pamahalaan at isang pagbubunyag sa kahinaan ng kolonyal na simbahan.

NOTESChapter 2: Crisostomo Ibarra● “The prosperity or misery of a people is in direct proportion to its

liberties or concerns and consequently to the sacrifices or selfishness of its ancestors.”

NOTESChapter 7: Suyuan sa Asotea● “Maaari ba kitang malimot? Maaari bang ako’y magtaksil sa isang

sumpa? ...Malilimutan ba kita, ang alaala mo ang kasama ko sa lahat ng sandali.”

● to Leonor Rivera● Sa akin ay para kang isang diwata, ang diwa, ang matulaing sagisag ng aking bayang

tinubuan, magnda, matapat,masuyo, mahinhin, anak ng Pilipinas, niyang magandang lupaing pinagsama ang mga dakilang asal ng Inang Espanya at ng maalindog na ugali ng isang batang bayang, gaya ng pagkakaisa sa buo mong pagkatao ng lahat ng kagandahan at kariktang nahihiyas sa dalawang lahing iyon; at dahil dito, ang pag-ibig sa iyo at ang pag-ibig ko sa aking tinubuan ay nagiging isang-isa lamang.”

● Rizal’s love for a woman and his country

NOTES

NOTESChapter 8: Mga Gunita● pati mga karitong batak ng hindi natitigatig at walang pakialam na

mga kalabaw na para bang nagpapalipas-oras lamang sa paghila ng mga mabibigat na dalahin samantalang nag-iisip

● Philippine commerce= cart; indifferent people= carabao● ang karaniwang tanawing iyon ay nakapagkakalyo na sa kanilang

mga puso

● 11 y.o. - GomBurZa

NOTESChapter 19: Ang Pakikipagsapalaran ng Isang Guro● Ibarra does not want revenge. Instead, he plans to build a school to

glorify his father’s name.. ● “Naniniwala ako na hindi maaring makapag-isip kung kaharap ang

palmeta o ang mga disciplina; ang pagkatakot at pagkasindak ay nakalilito sa lalong malamig na loob, dahilan sa ang pag-iisip ng bata dahil sa lubhang mabilis ay siyang lalong maramdamin.

● Rizal’s philosophy on education which is contrary to how education is at that time.

NOTESChapter 25: Sa Bahay ng Pilosopo● Pilosopo Tasyo: “Dahilan sa hindi ko inilalaan sa ating mga kapanahon ang

aking sinusulat kundi sa ibang panahong darating. Kung mababasa ng ating mga kapanahon ang aking mga sinusulat ay marahil susunugin ang aking mga aklat, ang aking hinarap na gawain sa buong buhay; samantalang sa isang dako, ang henerasyon na makakaalam sa kahulugan ng mga titik na ito ay pawang matatalino, mauunawaan nila ang ibig kong ipaalam at masasabi nilang: ‘Hindi ang lahat ay nakatulog sa kapanahunan ng ating mga ninuno.’ Ang lihim o ang mga di-karaniwang titik na ito ay siyang nakapagliligtas sa aking gawa sa kamangmangan ng tao, gaya rin naman ng pangyayaring ang lihim at mga kung anu-anong mga paraan ay siyang nakapagligtas sa maraming katotohanan sa mapanirang kamay ng mga kaparian.

NOTES● Pilosopo Tasyo: “Tularan ninyo ang rosas na hitik ng bulaklak at

buko na sa pagdaraan ng hangin ay yumuyuko sa halip na magmatigas upang di mabali. Ang yumuko sa pagdaan ng punglo ay di karuwagan. Ang masama ay harapin ito upang mabuwal at di na muling makabangon.”

NOTESChapter 33: Malayang Kaisipan● Elias: " Batas ng buhay ang di pagkakasundo. Lahat tayo’y may

kalaban, mula sa pinakamaliit na kulisap hanggang sa tao; mula sa pinakadukha hanggang sa lalong mayaman at makapangyarihan,"

NOTESChapter 49: Ang Tinig ng mga Pinag-uusig● “Ang pamahalaan ay katulad ng isang masamang manggagamot,

ginoo, walang hinahanap kundi ang lunasan at gamutin ang mga sintomas, ngunit hindi naman sinisiyasat ang pinagmumulan ng sakit, o kung alam man niya ang dahilan ay natatakot na ito ay labanan. “

● Ang guwardiya sibil ay itinatag lamang sa layunin na sugpuin ang kasamaan sa pamamagitan ng pananakot at lakas, ngunit ang layunin ng pagtatayo nito ay hindi naman nangyayari at kung may nagagawa ay nagkakataon lamang.

NOTESChapter 63: Ang Noche Buena● "Mamamatay akong hindi nakikita ang ningning ng bukang-

liwayway sa aking Bayan! Kayong makakakita, salubungin ninyo siya, at huwag kalilimutan ang mga nabulid sa dilim ng gabi." 

● Kahanga-hanga ang pag-ibig ni Elias sa bayan, sa mga huling sandaling kaniyang buhay ay kaniya pa ring inaala-ala ang bayan, at ang pag-asam sa pangarap na pagdating ng panahon ay sisikat ang isang bagong araw (kalayaan).

● Rizal: “Mamamatay akong nakikita na mula sa ulap ang pagbubukang liwayway. “

INFLUENCE AND LEGACY● was considered to be one of the instruments that initiated Filipino

nationalism that led to 1896 Philippine Revolution● not only awakened sleeping Filipino awareness, but also established

the grounds for aspiring an independence● Noli was originally written in Spanish, so the likelihood that Spanish

authorities will read it first is very high–which, Rizal actually wanted to happen.

INFLUENCE AND LEGACY● Copies of books were redirected to churches, many have been

destroyed, many anti-Noli writers came into the picture, Catholic leaders in the Philippines that time regarded the book as heretical, while Spanish colonial authorities declared it as subversive and against the government.

● Underground copies were distributed, so Rizal decided to increase the price, the demand is so high.

INFLUENCE AND LEGACY● caused the expulsion of Rizal's clan in Calamba, Laguna. ● Extradition cases were filed against him. ● This led to his decision to write the sequel of Noli Me Tangere, the El

filibusterismo.