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Noli Me Tangere: Rizal's Critique of Colonialism

The novel Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal criticized Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines and explored the difficulties of enacting political change under an oppressive government. The main character Crisostomo Ibarra returns home with plans for reform but faces opposition from corrupt religious and civil authorities who falsely accuse him of rebellion. He escapes jail with help from Elias but one of them dies while the other is hunted, reflecting the troubled state of the country.

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Ashlee Sibayan
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5 views1 page

Noli Me Tangere: Rizal's Critique of Colonialism

The novel Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal criticized Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines and explored the difficulties of enacting political change under an oppressive government. The main character Crisostomo Ibarra returns home with plans for reform but faces opposition from corrupt religious and civil authorities who falsely accuse him of rebellion. He escapes jail with help from Elias but one of them dies while the other is hunted, reflecting the troubled state of the country.

Uploaded by

Ashlee Sibayan
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal, written in Spanish and published in1887, had an important part in the

political history of the Philippines. Rizal provided a withering criticism of a society under Spanish colonial
authority, drawing on experience, nineteenth-century novel patterns, and European liberalism ideals.

The narrative is around Crisostomo Ibarra, a mixed-race heir from a wealthy clan who is back home in
Europe after seven years and is full of ideas on how to improve the situation of his compatriots. For
change, he is faced with an oppressive ecclesial hierarchy and with an apathetic and brutal Spanish civil
government. The news implies that significant changes in this environment are extremely difficult, if not
impossible, by means of plot developments.

Ibarra is excommunicated because Ibarra's death before his homestay and for Ibarra's father, Don
Rafael, to refuse a Catholic funeral, caused him to strike a priest. However, if the Governor General
intervenes, the edict is cancelled. Padre Salvi, the friar and his successor, symbolize the rotting state of
the priesthood. Their enmeshed feelings—one parental, the other fleshly—steel their desire to upset
Ibarra's plans for a school for Maria Clara, Ibarra's sweetheart and affluent Captain Tiago's lovely
daughter. Tasio, the city's philosopher, cynically remarks that similar initiatives in the last days had
failed.

The primary topic of this work, and one which Ibarra discusses with the enigmatic Elias with whose life
he is connected with, is how to do this. The Ibarra elite support peaceful methods while the only choice
is Elias, who faced injustice from the government.

The opponents of Ibarra, especially Salvi, imply a false uprising, albeit the evidence against him is thin.
Maria Clara then betrays him to safeguard the terrible, destructive familial secret. Ibarra escapes Elias's
aid from jail and faces her. He explains why, he and Elias run to the lake. She forgives her and he flees.
But one dies while the other lives, hunted by the Guardia Civil. Maria Clara, who was certain of her
death, enters the monastery refusing to allow Padre Damaso's marriage. His disappointment and that of
the more renowned Sisa, driven insane by her children's destiny, reflect the state of the country,
beautiful and terrible at the same time.

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