2. El Filibusterismo
El Filibusterismo is a sequel to Noli Me
Tangere. A dark, brooding, at times
satirical novel of revenge, unfulfilled love,
and tragedy, the Fili (as it is popularly
referred to) still has as its protagonist Juan
Crisóstomo Ibarra.
3. Context
El Filibusterismo also known as “The Reign of
Greed” was dedicated to the three martyred
priests, namely Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and
Jacinto Zamora. There are commonly known as
GOMBURZA. This novel of Dr. Rizal was full of
revenge and anger. It encouraged the people who
experienced abuse to revenge and seek for justice
using violent means
4. This novel of Dr. Rizal was full of
revenge and anger. It
encouraged the people who
experienced abuse to revenge
and seek for justice using violent
means.
5. If Noli Me Tangere described the
society during the Spanish
colonization in the Philippines, El
Filibusterismo encouraged the
people to rise and unite to assert
reform even with violent means.
6. This second novel is somehow
cruel than the first novel of Dr.
Rizal. The novel wants the
reader to have an idea of
Rizal’s concept of a violent and
bloody revolution.
7. The characters and their symbols
Simoun - Simoun represents the revolutionaries
during that time who supported the idea of holding
bloody revolt against the Spanish government.
Basilio - He represents the youth with a simple
dream that his education will improve his social and
economic status in the future and is indifferent and
selfish to the needs of society.
8. Isagani - Isagani is the symbol of the
youth whose love for the country is great
to the point of being branded as idealistic.
Father Florentino - Father Florentino
represented the secular Filipino priests in
Rizal’s time. It was also through his
character that the author stressed his
disapproval of a bloody revolt.
9. Placido Penitente - Placido means –
silent and Penitente means –
suffering. Combining those words,
“silent suffering” or in tagalog
“tahimik na pagluluksa”.
10. Main Themes
The main themes of the novel Noli Me Tangere are
Colonialism, Religion, Power, Revolution, Reform and
Education. Rizal shows in the novel how the
Spaniards and Catholic Church ruled the Philippines and
how they have controlled the Filipinos and abuse their
power. Colonialism created tensions that led to the
Philippine Revolution, which saw Filipino natives rise
against Spain's oppressive religious and governmental
entities.
11. The message of El Filibusterismo
EL FILIBUSTERISMO – The key message that we
can get from Dr. Jose Rizal’s novel, El
Filibusterismo perfectly encapsulates our
current society.
Fighting for Freedom – El Filibusterismo
inspired the Filipino people to fight for their
freedom against the oppressive and abusive
Spaniards.
12. Presence of Corrupt Government – Rizal’s novel
accurately depicted the self-serving gov’t officials in the
the form of Friars. In the novel, we could see how those
in power abuse their position to get favors and to
satisfy their lust.
Importance of Education – In El Filibusterismo, officials
tried to preserve a monopoly for education. This meant
that not everybody had an equal opportunity to better
themselves through knowledge. Rizal showed that
those in power would rather rule over the uneducated.
13. In summary, Rizal’s message that he
conveyed through El Filibusterismo is
simple he wanted Filipinos to have
better lives. As such, Rizal wrote El
Filibusterismo to show his countrymen
that proper education and decent
living for all are achievable.
