Noli Me Tangere
THE Background
Noli Me Tangere is considered as one of the greatest novels in Philippine history for its outstanding portrayal of the Spanish regime that wake the feelings of patriotism of many Filipinos. It is the first part of the novels, along El Filibusterismo, that Dr. Jose Rizal had made. Noli Me Tangere, the Latin title, directly translates to Touch Me Not or The Social Cancer was published in Berlin in March 1887.
In a letter to his friend and Czech scientist, Ferdinand Bluementritt, Rizal explained that he got the title from a passage from the bible - from John 20:17 where Jesus said to Magdalene “don’t touch Me!”. It was originally written in Spanish but it was later translated to Filipino and English for use today.
One of the primary reasons that he wrote this novel is because of his love for his mother who was a victim of the gross injustice by the Spanish official from the guardia civil.
Another reason for writing was when he read Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which describes the abuse of black slaves in the hands of rich white men - a situation that is fully familiar to Rizal.
Upon writing the novel, he talked to fellow Filipinos in Madrid to make it a collaborative effort. He met with Pedro, Maximino and Antonio Paterno, Graciano López Jaena, EvaristoAguirre, Eduardo de Lete, Julio Llorente and Valentin Ventura in the residence of the Paternos but the project did not come true because they had a dispute regarding the primary topic and circulating perspective of the novel. As a result, Dr. Jose Rizal decided to write it on his own.
Trivias
THE SUMMARY
A Filipino mestizo arrives from his travels in Europe to appear before his home town of San Diego - Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin came to town and a feast was prepared for
him and he was greeted with the atrocious attitude of Padre Damaso. As the feast carries on, he was told that his father was indicted of subversion and heresy by the church and on top of that, when he visits his father's grave, the body was not even there which filled his heart with anguish and anger. However, despite seeking revenge, Ibarra chose the peaceful path. He established a school for his fellow townspeople, like his father dreamt of. Simultaneously, he was warned that the friars have a habit of interfering with the supervision and he must pretend to be working with the people in power for those people are about their public image. He got this advice from two of the most knowledgeable in town which enabled his school come to reality. In another setting, a young boy is accused of theft and is beaten by the head sexton as his older brother flees and their mother look for them in different locations as her sanity start to diminish.
During the festival, the school was to be blessed by Padre Damaso but only to hear such foul words coming from him. The curator invited himself to Ibarra's dinner and started insulting Filipinos. The blatant act enraged Ibarra which drove him to resort to violence against the friar. This led to a series of events from Ibarra’s excommunication, cancellation of wedding, and Maria Clara’s admission to the convent. Fortunately, the Governor General was able to see purity in Ibarra's actions and asked the archbishop to lift his excommunication. However, another clergyman accuses Ibarra of establishing a revolution and he is quickly thrown into jail by Maria Clara’s actions. Elias, the indebted man, rescues him, takes him to Maria Clara, his lover, as she tried to explain everything. Ibarra is now a fugitive and on the
run towards the river with Elias. Both of them were pursued and shot from the river but no dead body was ever discovered.
The setting changes and it shows Basilio finally meeting his mother. A man enters the picture and asks for a proper burial and utters, "die without seeing dawn’s light shining on my country…You, who will see it, welcome it for me…don’t forget those who fell during the nighttime."