SUMMARY
Ibarra returns to the room where he’s staying. In the distance, Captain Tiago’s house is
visible; if Ibarra wanted, he could probably make out the party, where he would see—if indeed
he looked—a gathering of Filipinos, Spaniards, Chinese people, soldiers, priests, and a young
beautiful woman standing next to Father Dámaso, who is smiling in her presence. Instead,
though, Ibarra sees an image of his father dying in a jail cell while he— Ibarra—spills wine on
flowers and laughs unencumbered by grief. As the party ends and the lights go out in Captain
Tiago’s house, Ibarra weeps himself to sleep.

Source: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/noli-me-tangere/chapter-5-a-star-in-the-dark-night

 

REFLECTION
Ibarra is feeling the guilt from his father’s death that even watching a happy situation, a
party in particular, would make him sad. He could have stayed in the Philippines but he did not,
he abandoned Don Rafael in the Philippines to die while he—Ibarra—reaped the benefits of
international education. Despite his success abroad, he could not remove the idea of owing
something to his father since he abandoned him in the country. This makes me wonder about the
concept of grief. 

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 His Grief
Everyone felt sad more than once in their life. This sadness goes deep within. Some people
mask their true emotions with positive ones. They are sad but their facial expression shows that
they are happy. We all experience a different level of sadness, sorrow, and grief. Ibarra felt a
more emotional one since it's his father's death. But this doesn't mean people with less degree of
sadness in comparison to Ibarra is not acceptable. Sorrow is part of our lives. No one is unknown
to it. In that case, be cautious of your fellow individual. Often, they just need someone to talk to.
Be a shoulder willing to be cried on. Offer help to them. They need us emotionally.

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 His situation
We can see in the chapter the injustice in life. Other people like Kapitan Tiago can launch a
party and be happy for the night while others cry themselves to tears like Ibarra. That's the reality
of life. You can talk to people who are happy but deep inside they are sad and in sorrow. His
situation also shows us the gap between life before. The rich and the poor differ in so many
things.