The document discusses Jose Rizal's first return to the Philippines in 1887 after studying in Europe, where he practiced medicine and encountered controversy over his novel Noli Me Tangere. While the Governor-General was initially not troubled by the book, powerful Spanish clergy condemned it as heretical, impious, scandalous, anti-patriotic, and subversive, putting Rizal at risk of retaliation from colonial authorities. Rizal's return also saw him treat patients successfully as a doctor while generating income, but he faced growing conflict over the impact and interpretation of his writings.

1. NOLI ME TANGERE AND THE FIRST
HOMECOMING
THE GREAT NOVEL
Annabel Barro
Mark Delola
Joshua Rubio
Regine Reambonanza

2. SUMMARY
Noli Me Tángere begins at a dinner party hosted by Captain Don Santiago
(Tiago), a wealthy resident of Manila. Guests assembled at the party
include other members of the upper class as well as friars of both the
Dominican and Franciscan orders. During dinner, Don Crisóstomo Ibarra
arrives—the party being his first stop post-returning from Europe. He is
there to visit his fiancée María-Clara, Santiago’s daughter. However, the
celebratory atmosphere soon turns tense as one of the friars, Father
Dámaso, becomes angry at Ibarra’s arrival. After the party, Ibarra learns
that his father, Don Rafael, died while in prison and Father Dámaso had his
corpse exhumed and removed from the Christian cemetery.

3. The dramatic tension between Ibarra and Dámaso forms the central conflict.
As Ibarra reacclimates himself to his homeland, he looks to apply his
progressive ideals to make life better for the citizens of San Diego. After
meeting with a school teacher, Ibarra’s first act is to build a school. While he
gains support from the local government, the religious order within the town
views the project with suspicion. They begin to see Ibarra as a threat to their
power—with Dámaso in particular seeing him as a rival who must be put in
his place. Ibarra and María-Clara’s relationship dates back to childhood.
However, Dámaso is the godfather of María-Clara and opposes the marriage.
He wishes to drive the two apart and eventually achieves. He arrives
uninvited to a dinner party hosted by Ibarra and dishonors the memory of his
late father, which baits the latter into retaliation.

4. Ibarra physically attacks Dámaso, holding him at knife point and
threatening to kill him. María-Clara intervenes and prevents Ibarra from
completing the deed, but the damage is done. As punishment for the assault,
Ibarra is excommunicated and thus, the couple’s engagement is annulled.
The Captain General, the King’s representative in the Philippines,
intercedes on Ibarra’s behalf. Once again, Dámaso and his colleague Father
Salví are disgruntled and see the Captain General’s respect for Ibarra as a
threat to their power. Salví’s role in the novel becomes more prominent
after this incident, as he works on a scheme to take down Ibarra once and
for all. Ibarra befriends Elías, a fellow Filipino who is involved with a
subversive group planning an uprising. Because Elías is knowledgeable of
the town’s underground, he is able to warn Ibarra of the attempts to have
him framed and killed.

5. Their friendship is unusual as they are not of the same class, but they have
mutual respect for each other—and this respect enables them to strengthen
their alliance.
Through no fault of his own, Ibarra’s life is turned upside down by the
same forces that claimed the life of his father. As the novel comes to a
close, the progress that Ibarra advocated for is put on hold. However,
Dámaso suffers a private defeat as María-Clara holds a secret against him,
one that would destroy his reputation in town. Dámaso is eventually moved
out of San Diego and with him out of the way, the possibility of reform is
made more possible than ever.

6. CHARACTERS OF NOLI ME
TANGERE

7. Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin (Ibarra)
María Clara
A wealthy young mestizo who has just returned to the
Philippines after seven years of studying in Europe, Ibarra is
sophisticated, highly esteemed, and very idealistic. The love
interest of Maria Clara , sn of the deceased Don Rafael Ibarra.
the most important character in the novel manifesting in him
the filipino who acquired european idea through his education.
A woman of high social standing, she is thought to be the daughter of
Capitan Tiago and goddaughter of Father Dámaso. She is actually the
biological daughter of Father Dámaso, the product of a scandalous
relationship between the old priest and Capitan Tiago’s wife. María
Clara grew up alongside Ibarra and planned to marry him, but Father
Dámaso disapproved of the union. She represents true fidelity and
religiosity of the woman in real Filipino society.

8. Father Dámaso
Elías
Father Dámaso is an old, power-hungry, and shamelessly corrupt Spanish
priest who has lived among the native Filipinos for nearly two decades. In
spite of having spent all that time among them, the years have done nothing to
eHe masterminded the death of Don Rafael Ibarra, then brazenly taunted the
younger Ibarra. After he publically insults Ibarra's father, Ibarra attacks him
and he excommunicates Ibarra from the church. He is also the godfather (and,
in fact, the biological father) of María Clara, giving him influence over her
relationship with Ibarra.ndear him or develop any sympathy in him for his
“flock.”
A mysterious character, Elías is a man on the run from the law who
resents both the Spanish colonial government and the Catholic Church,
despite his strong religious convictions. He crosses paths with the more
temperate Ibarra when Ibarra bravely saves him from a crocodile. Elías
uncovers a plot against Ibarra's life and works closely with him
throughout the second half of the novel.

9. Father Salví
Captain Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos)
A younger, more cunning Spanish priest who assumes control over
Father Damaso’s post as friar curate of San Diego. He is in many
regards more dangerous that his precursor as he is a more gifted
strategist who uses his religious role for political influence as well as
personal vendettas. He frequently fights with the town's ensign for
power. His most significant role in the novel comes through his plot to
ruin Ibarra, who is engaged to María Clara, who he is in love with.
A rarity in that he is a wealthy Filipino who is native-born. He
keeps close ties with high-ranking members of the Catholic
Church, despite actually having no respect for religion, and
shamelessly joins in others' racist insults against his own
people. His primary concern is to marry off his daughter, María
Clara, to an affluent man from an influential family.

10. Doña Consolación
Don Rafael Ibarra
The pugnacious wife of The Ensign, Doña Consolación is an older
Filipina woman who is ashamed of her heritage and pretends to be
unable to speak Tagalog, her own native language. She fights with her
husband frequently and makes many of her husband's decisions for
him. Despite being described as very ugly, she is proud and demands
respect from others.
Crisóstomo Ibarra’s father is posthumously mentioned in the novel. A
critic of the corrupt practices of the Spanish friars, he earns the ire of
the vitriolic Father Dámaso, who accuses him of sedition and heresy.
He dies in prison before his name can be cleared. His remains are
buried in the Catholic cemetery in the town of San Diego, but Father
Dámaso hires a gravedigger to disinter his body to have him buried at
the Chinese cemetery because of his status as a heretic.

11. Crispín
Basilio
A young boy studying to be a church caretaker, Crispín and his brother
Basilio work ceaselessly to send support money to their beleaguered mother,
Sisa. Crispín is blamed for stealing money from the church coffers by the
head sexton and is kept a virtual prisoner until the debt is paid. On the night
that he and his brother were to visit their mother, the head sexton keeps them
until the curfew, effectively barring the brothers from travelling. The head
sexton beats him and he is never seen again afterward, presumably dying at
the hands of the cruel head sexton, though another church official claims he
escaped.
Basilio is Crispín's older brother. Like his younger brother, he works
as a sexton. Basilio makes a desperate run for their home the night
Crispín is dragged away and attempts to locate his younger brother the
day after, but his search efforts are fruitless.

12. La Doctora Victorina de los Reyes
de Espadaña
The Schoolmaster
The long-suffering mother of sextons-in-training Crispin and Basilio, she
goes mad upon the loss of her sons. Impoverished and married to a violent
drunkard, she is allied only with her sons. She wanders the town, clothes
tattered and hair disheveled, calling out for her sons. When she actually does
meet Basilio, she cannot recognize him.
A teacher that Don Rafael housed, thus allowing him to suitably attend
to the task of instructing students; he informs Crisóstomo Ibarra of the
sorry state of education of San Diego since the passing of his father.
The friars closely watch the material being taught in the school,
forbidding him from teaching Spanish. The schoolmaster is grateful to
the Ibarra family, but he is not hopeful that he’ll make headway in
getting any lasting educational reforms to happen.

13. Father Sibyla
Pilosopong Tasyo
A priest serving in the Binondo district in the city of Manila, Father Sibyla
serves as a foil to the otherwise largely corrupt Father Dámaso and the
perverse Father Salví as he is rational and calm. Father Sibyla is an adept
and shrewd orator who takes obvious delight in antagonizing the pompous
Father Dámaso at Ibarra’s return party.
Also known as Don Anastasio , portrayed in the novel as pessimistic,
cynic, and mad by his neighbors. He portrays the role of a philosopher
who was completely misunderstood in many aspects, he argues with
the beleif of the Catholic Church and social changes and concerns in
the novel

14. Pedro
Tandang Pablo
Abusive husband of Sisa who loved cockfighting.
The leader of the rebels, whose family was destroyed because of the
Spaniards.
Also known in his full name as Bernardo Salvi a secret admirer of
Maria Clara.
Padre Salvi

15. The Alferez
Don Teburcio
Chief of the Gurdian Civil, mortal enemy of the priest for power in San
Diego.
Spanish husband of Donya Victorana who was limp and submissive to
his wife; he also pretended to be a doctor.
The most powerful official in the Philippines, a hater of secular priest
and corrupt officials and a friend of Ibarra.
Captain General

16. RIZAL’S FIRST HOMECOMING
(1887-1888)

17. After five (5) years of memorable
sojourn (stay) in Europe, Rizal returned
to the Philippines in August 5, 1887 and
practiced medicine in Calamba.
Because of the publication of the Noli
Me Tangere and the uproar it caused
among the friars, Rizal was warned by
Paciano, Silvestre Ubaldo (his brother
in-law), Jose M. Cecilio (Chengoy) and
some close friends not to return home.
But Dr. Jose Rizal was determined to
return to the Philippines for the
following reasons:
1. to operate on his
mother’s ailing eye
problem
2. to serve his people who
had long been oppressed
by Spanish tyrant
3. to find out for himself
how the NOLI and his
other writings were
affecting Filipinos and
Spaniards in the country,
and
4. to inquire why Leonor
Rivera remained silen

18. On August 8th, Rizal returned to Calamba. His family
welcomed him affectionately, with
plentiful tears of joy. Upon his arrival his family
became worried for his safety. Paciano did not
leave him during the first day after arrival to protect
him from any enemy assault. His own
father would not let him go out alone, least something
might happen to him
In Calamba, Rizal established medical
clinic. His first patient was his mother,
who was almost blind. He treated Dona
Teodora’s eyes, but could not perform
any surgical operation because her eye
cataracts were not yet ripe. News of the
arrival of a great doctor from Germany
spread far and wide. Patients from
Manila and the provinces flocked to
Calamba.

19. Rizal, who came to be called “DOCTOR ULIMAN”
because he came from Germany, treated
their ailments and soon be, acquired a lucrative
medical practice. His professional fees were
reasonable, even “gratis” to the poor. Within a few
months, he was able to earn an amount of
Nine Hundred Pesos as a physician. By February
1888, he earned a total of Five Thousand Pesos
as medical fees.

20. Trouble in Noli me
Tangere A few weeks after his arrival, a storm broke over his
novel. One day Rizal received a letter from
GOVERNOR-GENERAL EMILIO TERRERO,
requesting him to come to “Malacanang” Palace.
Somebody had whispered to the governor’s ear that the
NOLI contained subversive ideas.
Rizal went to manila and appeared at “Malacanang”.
When he was informed by Governor Terrero of the
charge, Rizal denied it, explaining that he merely exposed
the truth, but he did not advocate subversive idea.

21. Please by his explanation and curious about the
controversial, the governor-general asks
Rizal for a copy of the Noli so that he could read it. Rizal
had no copy then because the only copy he brought home
was given to a friend. However, he promised to secure
one for the governor-general.
Governor-General Tererro read the NOLI and found nothing wrong
with it. But Rizal’s enemies were powerful. The Archbishop of
Manila, MSGR. PEDRO PAYO, a Dominican friar sent a copy of
the Noli to the Father Rector GREGORIO ECHAVARRIA of the
UST for examination by a committee of the faculty. The committee,
which was composed of Dominican professors, Submitted its report
to the Father Rector, who immediately transmitted it to Archbishop
Payo, who in turn, lost no time in forwarding it to the Governor-
Genera

22. This report of the faculty members of the UST stated that
the Noli was “ HERETICAL
( deviating ), IMPIOUS (ungodly and bad), and
SCANDALOUS in the religious order, and ANTI-
PATRIOTIC, SUBVERSIVE OF PUBLIC ORDER,
INJURIOUS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN AND
ITS FUNCTION IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS IN
THE POLITICAL ORDER”.

23. Father Salvador Font, Parish priest of
Guadalupe
Father Jose Rodriquez, prior of Guadalupe
General Jose de Salamanca
General Luis M. de Pando
Senor Fernando Vida
Vicente Barrante
ATTACKERS OF NOLI ME TANGERE

24. Marcelo H. Del Pilar
Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor
Graciano Lopez Jaena
Mariano Ponce
Father Francisco de Paula Sanchez
Don Segismundo Moret
Dr. Miguel Morayta
Rev. Father Vicente Garcia, a Filipino
Catholic priest-schol
DEFENDERS OF NOLI ME TANGERE

25. Thank You for
listening!