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IBITA, Dominic Emmanuel L.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM “THE SOCIAL CANCER”(NOLI ME TANGERE)

 

 The opening chapter itself (“A Gathering”) is a strong exposition of things tocome. The opening paragraph, descriptive of the Binondo house of Kapitan Tiago,

is an obvious allusion to the Philippines elegant !"et #ith traces of degeneration$,religious !#ith hints of superstition$, festive, #elcoming, #arm, and a house %#hichnever closed its doors& except to %trade and rebellious 'ne#( thought&. It alsointroduces to the readers the guests #ho peopled the house and their attitudesto#ard the Philippines, best exempli)ed in the introductions of the taciturn "etdigni)ed Lt. *uevarra and the vulgarl" %health"& +ra" Damaso, implication of thet#o inds of Peninsulares residing in the colon".

  “The Dinner” in the third chapter exhibits to the readers, especiall" to those #hodid not have the privilege to travel and stud" in Europe, Ibarra&s learnings in theEuropean lands and ho# he compares it to his native Philippines. The friarsseemed to have been stulti)ed b" the pronunciations, for this level of learningsthe" did not expect to be besto#ed on indios and mestizos of the islands, aseducational enlightenment could eventuall" bring about their do#nfall. Theopening versicle, jele-jele bago quiere, re-ects the panish hold on the Philippines,regardless of all the mocer" and abuse the" place on the indios and theirhomeland aayaw-ayaw pero gusto.

   The chapter introducing the rulers of )ctitious to#n of an Diego !/hapter 0, “TheRulers”) encapsulates #hat ind of religious and civil governance the Philippines

had during those colonial "ears. Fra Sal!i did not possess the digni)ed air Lt.*uevarra had1 in fact he #as described as sicl" and frail. 2e #as also, rather,more concerned #ith politicing on the rival devotional church groups !rather thanuniting them$ and #ith spreading, or rather %selling& as #ritten, religious articles!#hich, in the context of the novel, could have been verging on simon"$. The Alférez "# the Ci!il Guar$s, on the other hand, could be read as someonerepresentative of the panish government as a #hole. 3herein before themissionar" friars and colonial government #ored hand4in4hand to develop theislands, no# it is seen as nothing more but an %unhol"& alliance, #here both sidesare #ar" of each other and are are more concerned of their individualadvancements. 5evertheless, in the end, the citi6ens are left languishing #ith

nothing much to bene)t from both aforementioned characters

  “Signs "# St"r%” is a pivotal moment in the novel #here Ibarra, #ho #asoptimistic to start ane# and bur" famil" grudges in the beginning, gets his )rstbrush #ith the bitter realit". The sacrilege of his father&s bod" b" +ra" Damaso #hohappens to be, ironicall", the former friend of his father, sets the stage to testIbarra&s 6eal in maing a di7erence in his homeland. This could have re-ected8i6al&s o#n struggles #ith the panish authorities !e.g. 8i6al famil" v. theDominicans in /alamba$ #hich could have tested his tenacit" to carr" on #ith hispatriotic endeavors.

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   The introduction of Tasi"& the Sage !as Derb"shire translated flosoo$& issomeho# a continuation of 8i6al&s exposition of %ne#& ideas, #hich he started inthe 9rd chapter. Although Tasio did not have the same privilege as Ibarra, #hich isto stud" in pain, he nevertheless #as a voracious reader and a no#ledgeableperson. 2is former seminar" bacground gave him a #ide range of no#ledge inthe )eld of religion and his seemingl" eternal curiosit" #hetted his desire topurchase more and more boos. This latter action, ho#ever, contributed to his

)nancial banruptc". 2is ideas are listened to b" the learned and cultured, #horefer to him as D"n Anastasi"& The Sage, #hile the unschooled masses loo onhim as a lunatic fool, #ith his %peculiar ideas& and %eccentric& #a" of dealing #ithothers. Tasio no# includes in his audience the readers of the Noli, #here hisarguments on religion and political inheritances are ain to someone #ho, lieIbarra, must have been educated in the 3estern mold #ell4versed in the cultureand beliefs of di7erent peoples. 5o#, the reader is challenged b" the chapter&s title!/hapter :;$ itself is Tasio a %Lunatic, or a age

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+ra" Damaso&s Ser%"n !/hapter 9:$, a satiric exposition of a friar&s sermon duringthose times, also reinforces the character dominant in the friars& religiousadministration lacing in substantial theolog" and reeing of temporal politics.

IBITA, Dominic Emmanuel L.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM “REIGN OF GREED”(EL FILIBUSTERISMO)

  The Stea%shi Ta" in /hapter : is t"pical of a 8i6al introduction a gathering ofvarious people in a place seemingl" alluding to the Philippines. This time ho#ever,the steamship taes the place of Kapitan Tiago&s house bac in the Noli. 3hat ismore emphasi6ed here no# is the division of the social classes !the elite get tohave a di7erent section of the ship$. Also, #e are no# introduced to Si%"un #hois no# taing the place, ironicall", of +ra" Damaso although he is not as vulgar asthe said friar, he exudes the same pride and haughtiness exhibited b" 8i6al&s otherantagonistsHanti4heroes. It is disturbing #hen it is revealed that he is actuall" noneother than Ibarra, #ho #as formerl" a decent human being but transformed into a

sinister and manipulative monster of a man.

  *aesang Tales& introduced in /hapter ;, is introduced as the )rst of thedisillusioned souls #hom imoun #ill eventuall" recruit. El Fili+s darer characteris someho# shaped b" having man" disillusioned and tormented characters !e.g.imoun, Tales, Penitente$ tae the lead. Tales here represents the oppressedmasses, and it is evident in the chapter&s closing lines #ith 8i6al&s rousingsalutation of the oppressed /alamba farmers.

  ,asili"+s )rst personal encounter #ith Si%"un !/hapter $ exposes to the readerthe change in imounHIbarra % s character. The once ideal and pro4reform Ibarra has

no# been transformed, b" being thro#n into a series of unfortunate events in theNoli and letting himself be consumed b" hatred, into the vengeful Je#eler that he isno#. Their exchange seemed to be an o7shoot of imoun !as Ibarra$&s pastdiscourseHargument #ith the radical boatman Elias. Basilio, on the other hand,climbed through life from his #retched beginnings as a poor orphaned bo" in theNoli, he pushed through #ith his determination and no#, in the Fili, he is alread" Just a fe# steps into becoming a doctor. 2e supprted the !ademia de "as

 

-la.i$" -enitente& introduced in /hapter :, is sho#n to be a promisingprovincial student !someho# similar to the lies of Kabini$. 2is studies in Kanila

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has exposed him to the lies of other students, such as the rich slacer uanitoPelae6. In contrast to the vulgar Pelae6, Penitente evoes his ver" name placid andunvengeful. In the end, ho#ever, he also gets disillusioned and Just lie Tales, he#ill also be lured b" imoun to connive along #ith his planned revolution. Thethree of them someho# represent three branches of Philippine societ" at that timethe eliteHbourgeois !represented b" imoun$, the "outh !Penitente$

The -hsi.s Class (/hapter :9$ encapsulates the situation of education in late4

period panish Philippines. The >niversit" of anto Tomas provides a realisticsetting for the novel, being one of the premier learning institutions at that time. The illogical treatment in-icted b" +ra" Killon upon Placido Penitente captures the pantatanga spirit imposed b" the coloni6ers upon the indios, especiall" to those#ho #anted to learn !#hich the paniards did not exactl" delight in$

 

If the idea of educating the indios #as someho# glori)ed in the Noli, theeducational s"stem prevalent in the Philippine colon" #as exposed as inglorious inthis seuel. /hapter :; (“In The H"use O# Stu$ents”) introduces, in a mannersimilar to other 8i6al introductions, the di7erent inds of students #ho people the>T at that time the seemingl" nave but #ealth" Kacaraig, the slacers Pelae6and Tadeo, and the idealist Isagani. It is in Isagani #here, seemingl", the#abataang pag-asa ng bayan #hich 8i6al dreamed of is personi)ed.

 

Pasqi!a"as !/hapter =$, referring to the subversive posters suddenl"disseminated in the >T, is one of the %situational bombs& in the novel. imilar tothe death threaths in the Noli #hich thre# Ibarra into disgrace, the posters spelleddoom to the student4organi6ed !ademia de "astellano of #hich man" students,including Basilio and Isagani, are members. This is someho# similar to the ?Signs"# St"r%” chapter of the Noli, #hich started to test the tenacit" of Ibarra !in here,Basilio&s$.

  The Friar an$ the Filiin" !/hapter $ is one of those allegorical exchangesthat 8i6al relates in his novels. +ra" +ernande6 represented the last of theprogressive and benevolent colonial authorities in panish Philippines. 2e#elcomed the discourse presented to him b" Isagani, representing the students,#hich argued on the antiuated education the friars #ere providing at the >T. Theuse of the term ?+ilipino in the chapter&s title is also s"mbolical for the )rst time,the term Filipino #as applied not onl" to $nsulares, but no# also !and rightl"$ to thenatives !personi)ed b" Isagani$.

  The E/e.t "# the Pasqi!a"as revealed the shallo#ness of the students

introduced in /hapter :;. Tadeo the slacer burned his boos, #hile Pelae6 setteleddo#n to business and usurping Isagani&s girlfriend. Basilio, left alone in Bilibid #ithno connections, no famil" and a dead )ancM is thro#n into the similar roc4bottomstate in #hich Ibarra earlier #as put into. 3ho better ne# that depression thanIbarra !no# imoun$ himself, #ho comes to Basilio&s aid at a price his cooperationin the flibusterismo%

•  The foiled bombing attempt in The Fiesta !/hapter 9G$, #hich epitomi6es theultimate destruction of imoun&s revolution, is an evocation of the big uestion inthe novel #as imoun&s flibusterismoN fueled b" hate and greed, reall" #orth it