FINAL EXAM FOR RIZAL

Jeffrey Viernes 1

1. Based on the novel Noli Me Tangere, what were Rizals ideas on the issues of that time
(e.g. education, political reforms, religion, parenting, literature, nationhood, etc)? Cite
textual proof. Do you agree or disagree with these ideas?
Noli Me Tangere is a required course to be taken in the Philippines, from high school to
college before graduation. This book is so valued because of the role it played during colonial
period in awakening the spirits of the Filipino people and inspiring them with courage and
dignity to stand for their own motherland against the forces of Spain. The colonial government of
Spain conquered the many independent tribes of the country that lived there for centuries. As a
result, Spain succeeded in uniting the country as one colony of Spain, with exception to the tribes
located in the Cordillera Mountain and the Moros of Muslim Mindanao.
The Philippines remained a colony of Spain for at least three centuries, without
experiencing intellectual and industrial growth. Before the arrival of the Spaniards into the
country, the Philippines is already exercising barter trade system with its neighboring nations by
exchanging products, artifacts, and golds. Through this barter system, the Filipino natives
maintained a sustainable way of living. However when the Spaniards took over the country, the
barter system was abolished and dismantled. The Spanish government and the friars took
advantage of the isolation and established great amount of wealth and power for themselves at
the expense of the Filipino natives. Corruption and oppression became more prevalent as years
passed because the government and the friars aimed for more power and wealth. The ignorance
of the people and the lack of unity that the Filipino people possess lead them to be submissive
and endure the sufferings and abuses.
Noli Me Tangere exposed the corruption of the government officials and the abuses of the
friars in the Philippines. This novel started to awaken the minds of the Filipino people, that after
its publication, the people of the country rose up in rebellion against the ruling of Spain, seeking
for freedom from their long years of being oppressed. The sole purpose of the novel was to open
the blindfolded eyes of the people and exposed to them the real condition of their motherland
under the Spanish government. Rizal wanted his country to see a growth from the intellectual
and economic aspect. Rizal did not aim for a bloody revolution but aspired for reformation
through peaceful talk with the Spanish government. He wanted the Filipino people to seek
education to improve their situation and seek to encourage the government to make positive
changes for their country.
Education was only limited to those who can afford to pay expensive tuition fees and is
exclusively for those students that have Spanish descent. The Filipino children were taught but
limited to the teachings of the church. There were few fortunate Filipinos who gained education
in the schools established by the friars and some of them had the opportunity to obtain their
degree abroad. The Spanish friars believe that the Filipinos are indolent and will never have the
opportunity to succeed in school. The friars believe that the Filipinos intellectual capacity is
lower than a monkey. However, each Filipino family before wanted their children to be attending
school. For example, Sisa sent her children to the convent to become sacristan and to receive free
education from the friars in exchange to their services. Sisa believes that education is important
in order to progress in life and to uplift their family from poverty (pp. 285-293). However, their
dreams turned into their darkest nightmares because they were accused of stealing gold pieces

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from the church. In the novel Noli Me Tangere, Ibarra wanted the Filipino natives to obtain
education through his program of building a school.
Today, many Filipino families wanted their children to finish college because they view
education as a solution to poverty and starvation. In the Philippines, discrimination in the
educational system is still prominent even in public schools. Thousands of Filipino families
belong to the unemployed class and poverty level and most of their children are deprived with
the education that they need. Nowadays, money is necessary to obtain the degree you wanted for
yourself. As a matter of fact, many parents are doing everything they can to provide their
children the education they needed to succeed in their own career. In the novel Noli Me Tangere,
Crisostomo Ibarra stated, I desire the countrys welfare so I will build a schoolhouse. I seek it
by means of instruction, by progressive advancement; without light there is no road. (p. 756)
For Rizal, the mission of education is to elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to
develop the peoples mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a pre-requisite
for social progress. However, in order for education to succeed the attitude of government
leaders need to change. Without that change, no progress could be made.
When Ibarra met the local schoolteacher on their way to his fathers graveyard, the
teacher exemplified the problems behind education namely; motivation of the child, poverty, and
teaching methods. According to the schoolteacher, a child is more interested in playing and
exploring his world than sitting for long hours in the classroom. Aside from motivation, poverty
is one of the main problems that hamper education; a child is encouraged to work at an early age
than to invest himself in studying and learning. During the Spanish regime, class is taught in
Spanish, the students were mandated to memorize passages even though they do not understand
it. Corporal punishments were common too, creating an impression of fear in the minds of the
students. According to the schoolteacher, real learning cannot happen in this type of setting. He
stated, Beating and memorization need to be replaced with positive teaching methods that
inspire real learning. He added, I took the whips home and replaced with emulation and belief
in oneself. If someone could not do a lesson, I ascribed it to a lack of will, not a lack of ability. I
made them believe they had a great aptitude than they possibly could have had, and that belief,
which they then made every effort to uphold, forced them to study; in the way that confidence
leads to heroism. (329) In addition, he stated, Now let me recount to you even sadder details. I
have wished to introduce reforms and have been laughed at. In order to remedy the evil of which
I just spoke to you, I tried to teach Spanish to the children because, in addition to the fact that the
government so orders, I thought also that it would be of advantage for everybody. I used the
simplest method of words and phrases without paying any attention to long rules, expecting to
teach them grammar when they should understand the language. At the end of a few weeks some
of the brightest were almost able to understand me and could use a few phrases. (324)
Rizal envisioned the country to have equality in governing the nation. He believes that
Filipinos need to participate in the making of laws and orders and that they represent the natives
of the land. Equality without discrimination is necessary in order for a country to be progressive
because they have one common goal and that is to see their country developing. I believe that
there should be a separation of the church and the state in governing a community. The church
provides the moral teachings and the government is the keeper of peace and order in the
community. Corruption and abuses in power is also very prominent in during the colonial period.
It was clearly illustrated in the film Jose Rizal by Marilou Abaya, whereby the archbishop
provided a decision to replace the governador general (1998). Therefore during that time, the
friars are in control of all the political system. The government officials remained puppets of

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frailocracy. Rizal also envisioned equal treatment in judging the accused whether it is Filipinos
or with Spanish descent. The court and the judges should not be biased in deciding for these
cases.
Religion is the long-standing legacy of the Spaniards to the Philippines. The polytheistic
and animistic view of the Filipino people was change to praise only one God. During the Spanish
colonial period, religion was used to control the natives. The Spanish friars created the concept
of hell and an unforgiving God when the natives refuse to accept the introduced religion. As a
result of the force and the consequence of fear imposed in their minds, they submitted
themselves to the Christian faith and were baptized as Catholics. The Spanish friars made the
natives believe that being poor is easier to enter heaven, so the Filipinos chose to become
deprived and humble. The friars during that time were also engaged in sexual assaults to the
young Filipina women. For example, it was revealed in the novel Noli Me Tangere that Maria
Claras biological father was Padre Damaso, which was long been a secret in the family. The
friars were also engaged in abusing the natives. For example, the two sons of Sisa, Crispin and
Basilio, were subjected to false accusations of stealing two gold pieces from the church. Friar
Salvi and the head sacristan punished Crispin by whipping him with rolls of rattan and struck his
head with a heavy cane. In the story, Crispin tried to defend himself and ran away but his body is
too weak to even crawl the floor to escape. He was severely wounded and bleeding profusely. He
begs for his life yet the curate and the head sacristan did not show little mercy. Crispin represents
the innocents who have been wrongly blamed of the crimes they did not commit. The injustices
they suffered under the hands of the Spanish government and the friars were forever silenced by
their deaths. The friars used the sermon and Sabbath day to insult the Filipinos in their homily.
For example, The sermon of the curate during a mass always emphasize that Filipinos are indios
and that they should respect the Spaniards, who are the vessel of faith and salvation (DiazAbaya, 1998). The friars always emphasized that the Spaniards are with higher intellect and that
the Filipino natives were likened to an animal or even lower than a monkey (Diaz-Abaya, 1998).
The friars believe that the natives were redeemed from savagery and that they have progress as
people, but in another extent, the Filipino customs have decayed and the people fell into slavery
and that they have retrograded. The friars abused their power and position by requiring the
natives to give money in exchange for a mass and their salvation (Diaz-Abaya, 1998).
Good parenting is necessary to be established in the early years of the child in order for
them to grow up with good morals and with dignity for themselves. Good parenting was
expounded in the film Jose Rizal, whereby when Pepe suddenly entered in the conversation of
the elderly, his mother stated, You should not be interrupting the conversation of the elderly.
That is disrespectful. (1998) Another scenario was illustrated in the novel Noli Me Tangere,
whereby Sisa sent her children into the convent to serve the friars and became sacristan. She
believes that by doing so, they will obtain free education and make a living at the same time. Sisa
nurtured her children with life lessons and good manners. She stated in the novel, Sir, begged
the unfortunate woman, my sons wouldnt steal even though they were starving, for we are used
to that kind of suffering. Basilio didnt bring me a single cuarto. Search the whole house and if
you find even a real, do with us what you will. Not all of us poor folks are thieves! (354)
Rizal used his knowledge and skills in writing to create fictional characters that depicts
the current situation of his country under the Spanish rulers. He used his pen and paper as sword
and shield to expose the maltreatment and the abuses of the government and the friars towards
the Filipino people. He started a bloodless revolution by exposing these problems or the socalled social cancer. Though he did not aim for a bloody revolution, he contributed in providing a

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spark in the beginning of Philippine revolution. He wrote poems and novels as a reflection of his
love to the country. He dedicated his literary works to the people of the Philippines. Rizal is one
of the symbols of nationalism in the Philippines due to his enormous work in exposing the
abuses of the Spanish government and the friars to the native people of the country. When he was
in Madrid on a banquet together with other well-respected artists, he stated, Our enemies are not
here, we cannot do anything to help the oppressed, I need to go back to where they are and face
them. (Diaz-Abaya, 1998). Dr. Rizal emphasized the development of national consciousness,
which is the creation of nationhood in the minds and hearts of the Filipinos. The Filipinos need
to realize their purpose of existence in their country, the root cause of their oppression, and the
sacrifices that they must go through to attain emancipation from colonial domination. It is
necessary to awaken the peoples pride to restore their dignity as Filipinos, which has been
denied from us for three centuries of degradation and humiliation. Rizal envisioned the
succeeding leaders of the country to be responsible with independent judgment and has welfare
towards the whole community.
2. What is the impact of the novel in Philippine society? Is it still relevant today? Is it
relevant in your life? Why or why not?
Noli Me Tangere exposes the brutality, greed, cruelty, and ignorance of the Spanish
colonizers to the Filipino natives. Noli Me Tangere helped to open the eyes of the oppressed
Filipinos into the reality of what is really happening into their motherland. Jose Rizal turned his
focus on the abusive power, family devotion, self-sacrifice, and social climbers during the
Spanish regime in the Philippines, as it was clearly portrayed in the novel Noli Me Tangere. True
enough, the words in the novel served as a sharp sword stabbing the hearts and minds of the
Spanish government officials and the friars. As a consequence, Rizal was ordered to be
imprisoned and sentenced to death and the publication of his works and writings be stopped and
all the books that were published needs to be turned in to the government to be burnt. However,
this action by the government and the friars is already too late because the minds of the
oppressed people are already awakened and ready for an uprising revolution. Though Rizal
aimed for a bloodless revolution through peaceful talk with the Spanish government, his works
and writings served as a motivation to the people to fight for their motherland and their rights.
The people aimed for reform and equality but the government and the friars disregarded this
request and petition. The people cried for freedom and independence and sacrificed their lives to
attain their liberty and emancipation.
Jose Rizal described the problem of the country as social cancer. It was depicted from the
Rizal film that, The cancer of our society was already so advanced that no doctor can cure it.
(1998) Cancer is a malignant disorder that targets the good cells of the human body. Cancer is
not diagnosed until it is full blown and the immune system is weakened already, making it
susceptible to common illness. Cancer provides engendering overwhelming pain to the person
afflicted with the disease. As the cancer stage progresses the body weakens and death ensues.
There were no proven cure or medications yet for cancers but there are various treatments that
can slow down the progression of the cancer and medications that can help alleviate the
symptoms of the disease. Rizal used the analogy of a social cancer inflicting the Filipino people
to show that the country was severely battered and wounded by its colonizers. In his writings, he
was not calling for a single doctor to cure the illness but he was calling the Filipinos to redeem

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their country from its miserable state. Rizal tells his readers, whether mestizos or Filipinos not to
adhere to its morbid state but rather find improvement and recovery. Instead of grieving and
simply lamenting the countrys miserable state, Rizal wants to awaken the spirits of the Filipino
people to act against the injustice that was stripping our country from the prestige of nationalism.
The novel stood in order to openly present to the people the negative impacts of Spanish
government and the role of the church in the country. The novel is significant in providing social
critique and insights to the struggles of the Filipino natives. It attacks the Spanish government
and the power of the church, exposing their faults and abuses towards the people. It served to
unite the nation for one common goal and that is to strive for independence and freedom.
The three centuries that the Spanish government ruled the country, multiple suffering,
maltreatment, and abuses were done to the Filipino people as a result of their refusal to serve the
government and the friars. The friars, civil guards, and some government officials abused their
power to mistreat the natives and harass them. In the novel Noli Me Tangere, the oppression and
abuses provided by the Spaniards to the Philippines is clearly illustrated through the cruelties and
maltreatment received by Sisa to protect her sons. Sisa is a depiction of a loving and caring
mother of Basillo and Crispin in the novel Noli Me Tangere (276). Sisa was abused by her
husband and suffered to major depression from the death of her son and losing Basillo. Sisa
endured these suffering and showed herself as a devoted wife and a nurturing mother. She
considers and regards her sons as her only treasures in life (276). She endures the trials she goes
through just to keep them secure. She showed her real love as a mother to Crispin and Basillo.
Today, I think that the characters of the novel still exist in the present Philippine society.
Some government officials are still abusing their power and position to oppress the poor and the
less fortunate. Corruption, extrajudicial killing, and discrimination continue to flourish making it
difficult for the country to advance and progress. Corruption is one of the long-standing
problems of our country. The money that is supposed to be for the people is being wasted in the
pockets of the politicians. Not until the corruption is resolved in the government, the country will
continue to suffer from poverty and will not progress as a nation. Poverty is forcing the younger
generations to join in the workforce to help support their families, instead of learning and
studying in school. Criminality and drugs rates in the Philippines are also blooming due to
poverty and social influence factors. False accusations and unequal treatment of people in the
eye of the law continues to exist in the Philippine society. Money still prevails against the truth
during court trials. The country is still inflicted with the cancer that has long been diagnosed
from the past. The cure for the cancer is still waiting to be discovered. We do not need a single
person to solve the social cancer, the unity of the Filipino people is the solution to end these
problems in order for the country to move forward and once again called to be one of the great
nations in the world. Education is important to become wise and knowledgeable. It is through
education that people obtain knowledge of themselves as members of a nation. It is through
education that we can successfully eradicate the iniquities and defects of our society.
It is relevant to me because I am a Filipino and it tackles the history of my ancestors
during the colonial era. Though I was not physically present during those times in history, I was
able to clearly picture the type of society we had during the Spanish era in the country. As Rizal
stated, He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his
destination. We need to be able to know our own history and take pride of our countrys heritage
and culture. I also believe that the youth is the hope of our future. That is why educating the
youth is necessary in order for them to be molded as leaders of our future, leading to a

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progressive and better nation. I believe that one day, the country will be progressive as long as
the people has unity in resolving the social cancer of the country. We are the hope for our own
nation.
3. Choose a character from the novel and explain his/her significance in literature and
Philippine society? Cite textual proof. How is the character relevant today?
Basilio is one of the main characters in the novel that made it through the second novel of
Dr. Jose Rizals El Filibusterismo. Basilio is the brother of Crispin and one of the children of
Sisa in Noli Me Tangere. They were sent to the convent by their mother to serve the church in
exchange of learning how to speak, read, and write Spanish. Basilios eagerness to learn and help
his parents at the same time accepted to serve the church as bell ringers during the Angelus
(287). However, their dreams turned into their darkest nightmares because they were accused of
stealing gold pieces from the church (286). Basilio became silent for a while in the novel until
the Christmas Eve, where he returned to San Diego to search for his mother, Sisa. The search
ended with tears and sorrow, where Sisa dies shortly after recognizing the face of her son (934).
Basilio represents the oppressed Filipino people who wanted reformation and education to uplift
their families from poverty. Basilio also represents the people who have been wrongly blamed of
the crimes they did not commit. Basilio became one of the learned individuals in the second
novel whereby he pursued his career in medicine.
Today, Basilio is still living in our society. There were many oppressed individuals, poor
families, and victims of false accusations. There were thousands of poor children who aspire to
enter school but hindered by the lack of money to support their education. As a result, they are
forced to help their parents to work in order for their family to eat at least three meals a day. In
the Philippines, there are thousands of street children that roam the city to ask for help from
drivers and pedestrians in order to buy a meal for their families. Hundreds of Filipino families
depend their life in collecting garbage items and sell them in a junk shop. Many Filipino families
do not even have the opportunity to eat three complete meals in a day. Oftentimes, the food that
they consume is without any valuable nutrients that can help nourish their body. Every politician
promises a better life for the people but after they are elected to represent their community, they
turn their back away from them. The Filipino people, especially the less fortunate and the poor,
continues to suffer poverty until corruption is stopped completely.
Hacienda Luisita Massacre is one of the most tragic events in Philippine history, whereby
countless lives of farmers were brutally murdered by the government. The farmers peacefully
demand for their rights to the lands previously owned by their elders, but the government
answered them with bullets. Not a single human right violation case filled against the Aquino
government; rather they concealed it with different story and justice for the bereaved families
was not properly served. The farmers were muted yet their hearts were burning for revenge
against the government. The injustices they suffered under the hands of the government were
forever silenced by their deaths. The farmers in the Hacienda Luisita are encouraging their
children to attend to school to become lawyers in order for them to be able to stand for their
elders and their rights for the land.
Many families still believe that education is the key to prevent poverty that aids the
progress of the country. I still believe that educating the youth will bring forth progress to the
nation and that it can slowly abolish poverty. It is through our efforts and dedication to study that
will guide us to reach our goals in life. In the Philippines, the government provides ample

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amount of financial support to education. The books were outdated and the system of teaching
was not changed. The government should allot sufficient amount of funding to education in order
to build new schools and provide the students the needed materials in order guide them with their
studies. There are many students who depend on scholarships to supplement their studies. There
are many students as well who work for a part time job to complement their education. The
government should encourage the youth to pursue their college career by creating more
scholarships for them to avail to sustain their education.
Though the colonial years have long been finished, the country inherited the social
cancers that Rizal was talking about in his novels. By this reason, the country is still unable to
attain full progress. Today, corrupt government officials still exists which hinders the progress of
the country. The programs related to education is still laid back and financial support from the
government is still not enough to advance the system to provide a learning experience that is
similar to other international school. We can clearly recognize the problem of our society but we
are feared to speak about it. Filipino families, especially the less fortunate and underprivileged,
will continue to be a victims of oppression and maltreatment until the government is changed.
The character of Basilio will continue to exist within the hearts of future generations of Filipinos.
We are the Basilio of our country and together we can build a progressive nation.

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References
Derbyshire, Charles, trans. A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere from the Spanish
of Jos Rizal Excerpt From: Jos Rizal. The Social Cancer: A Complete English
Version of Noli Me Tangere.. Manila: Philippine Education, 1912. 17 June 2007. Web.
03 May 2016. <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6737/6737-h/6737-h.htm#d0e1203>.
Jose Rizal. Dir. Marilou Diaz Abaya. Perf. Cesar Montano. GMA Network Films, 1998. DVD.