MODULE 3

RIZALʼS NATIONAL
CONSCIOUSNESS

This module outlines the

significant events in Rizalʼs
life that shaped his
nationalist sensibilities. His
notable experiences
abroad eventually became
the catalyst for him to
finally draft and finish his
first novel. Section 1,
Higher Education of Rizal
presents the scholastic
achievements and ordeals
of Rizal that made him
more dedicated to his
studies. Section 2, Rizalʼs
Life Abroad discusses the
various accomplishments
of Rizal abroad and its
impact on his nationalistic
ideas. Section 3, The
Propaganda Movement and
La Solidaridad provides the
various nationalist
movements Rizal initiates
as influences by his
education, personal
observations, and
experiences abroad.
Section 4, In the Eyes of
Noli Me Tangere reflects on
the conditions and
problems of the Philippine
society in the nineteenth
century.

Section 1
Higher Education of Rizal

This section provides an

overview of Rizalʼs
academic life. It begins
with his studies in the
Philippines at the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila and
the University of Santo
Tomas to his schooling
abroad. It also highlights
his observations,
experiences, and
accomplishments that
became the foundation of
his nationalist sensibilities.

INTENDED LEARNING
OUTCOMES
At the end of this section,
the students should be
able to:
1. Identify Rizalʼs scholastic
achievements and triumphs
in life; and
2. Assess Rizalʼs scholastic
performance and criticize
his philosophy on
education.

DIAGNOSTICS
Behind the surname
Instructions: Answer the
questions that follow.
1. What is the full name of
Jose Rizal?
2. What is the name of
Rizalʼs mother?
3. What is the name of
Rizalʼs father?
What could be the reason
why Jose Rizal used Rizal
as his surname while all his
siblings used Mercado?
Explain your answer.

The execution of the three

martyr priests, Mariano
Gomez, Jacinto Zamora,
and Jose Burgos,
collectively known as
Gomburza on February 17,
1872, left Paciano, Jose
Rizalʼs brother, deeply
moved and angered by the
brutality of the Spanish
colonial government. He
expressed his frustrations
to the younger Jose,
making him, even at a very
age, aware of the atrocities
of the Spanish colonizers.
The execution of Gomburza
stirred the nationalist
sensibilities in Rizal. He
even decided his second
novel, El Filibusterismo, to
the three priests. The
execution opened Rizalʼs
eyes to the true condition
of Philippine society under
the Spaniards.
Originally, Francisco
Mercado wanted Jose to
study at Colegio de San
Juan de Letran but Paciano
convinced him to let Jose
study instead at Ateneo
Municipal de Manila. With
the help of Manuel Xerez
Burgos, the nephew of the
priest Jose Burgos, Rizal
was admitted to Ateneo
despite objections from
some school
administration.
In the first two terms at
Ateneo, classes were
divided into groups of
interns and externs. The
interns constituted the
Roman Empire while the
externs constituted the
Carthaginian Empire. In
each group, there were five
dignitaries: the Standard-
bearer, Centurion,
Decurion, Tributne, and the
Emperor who was
considered to be the best
student in class. Rizal,
grouped in the
Carthaginian Empire, was
ranked at the bottom of the
class at the start of the
term. He kept on getting
promoted so that by the
end of his first month, he
had already attained the
rank of Emperor.
Rizal continuously
exemplified scholastic
excellence such that he
was the pride of the Jesuits
as he received the highest
grades in almost all his
classes. On March 23,
1877, he obtained the
degree Bachiller en Artes
and was awarded
sobresakiente
(outstanding). During his
stay in Ateneo, he wrote
poems and crafted
sculptures. One of these
sculptures was the
Sagrado Corazón de Jesús
(Sacred Heart of Jesus)
upon the request of his
teacher.
After finishing his studies
at Ateneo, Rizal pursued
further studies. This was
strongly opposed by his
mother for she believed
that gaining more
knowledge would only
endanger his life. However,
with the support of his
father and brother, Rizal
went on to attend the
University of Santo Tomas
(UST) to study Philosophy.
After a year, he shifted to
study medicine, where he
was allowed to take up
preparatory medical
courses and regular first
year medical courses at the
same time.
Rizalʼs academic life in UST
was full of controversies
and hardship compared to
his time in Ateneo. It was
reported on various
occasions that Rizal had
“unhappy days” at UTS for
three reasons. One reason
is that the Dominican
professors were hostile to
him. Another reason was
the fact that Filipinos were
vulnerable to racial
discrimination and lastly
the method of instruction
was repressive and
outdated. In 1882, Jose
Rizal finished his fourth
year in UST and left the
Philippines bound for Spain
where he continued his
study of medicine at the
Universidad Central de
Madrid. He obtained
multiple degrees in
philosophy, letters, and
medicine in 1884.
Rizalʼs sudden decision to
leave the Philippines was
compounded with
speculations. According to
some accounts, Rizal left
the country as part of a
secret mission co-
orchestrated by his brother
to observe life abroad and
initiate a campaign for
reforms in the Philippines.

EXERCISE 3.1.1 Poetry

Writing

Name:
______________________________
_____ Section:
_______________

In the 1872, while Doña

Teodora Alonzo was
imprisoned, Jose Rizal was
sent to Manila to study in
Ateneo Municipal de
Manila, a college under the
supervision of the Spanish
Jesuit friars. In Ateneo,
Rizal exemplified scholastic
excellence. He was also
able to showcase his
talents in various fields
such as poetry. The first
poem Rizal wrote during his
days in Ateneo was Mi
Primera Inspiracion (1874),
which he dedicated to his
mother on her birthday. He
also dedicated the poem in
honor of his native town.
Other poems of Rizal
include Por La Educacion
Recibe Lustre La Patria and
Alianza Intima Entre la
Religion y la Buena
Educacion.

Instructions: Write a three-

stanza poem dedicated to
your mother or to your
native town showing your
love, honor, gratitude, and
appreciation.

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EXERCISE 3.1.2 The Value

of Education

Name:
______________________________
_____ Section:
_______________

Instructions: Write a 300-

to 500- word personal
reflection on the value and
significance of education in
the success of a person in
the modern world. Keep in
mind Jose Rizalʼs undying
commitment to education
in writing your reflection.
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Section 2
Rizalʼs Life Abroad

This section discusses

Rizalʼs experiences living
abroad. It focuses on his
observations and
realizations while living
somewhere far from his
homeland, the different
people he meet and the
organizations he became
part of that have
contributed to the
development of his national
consciousness.

INTENDED LEARNING
OUTCOMES
At the end of this section,
the students should be
able to:
1. Analyze the experiences
Rizal had abroad that
helped shape his
nationalist sensibilities;
2. Identify the different
places that Rizal had been
to and the people he met
on his travels who might
have inspired him to be
propagandist; and
3. Assess the significance
and success of Rizalʼs
mission abroad.

In 1882, after finishing his

fourth year at the
University of Santo Tomas
(UST), Rizal left for Spain
to continue his studies
there. According to some
accounts, Rizal left the
Philippines as part of a
secret pact with his brother
Paciano. With only a few
people aware of his
departure, not even his
parents nor his lover
Leonor Rivera, Rizal left the
Philippines bound for Spain
to observe life abroad and
to write a book displaying
Filipino nationalism. In his
journey, he was able to
establish connections that
facilitated the campaign for
reforms in the Philippines
while trying to
conceptualize his book.
Rizalʼs trip was primarily
funded by Paciano, who
regularly sent him money
for his upkeep. When the
agrarian crisis in Calamba
took place, Rizalʼs
allowance was delayed and
he had to pawn the
diamond ring his sister
Saturnina gave him before
he left for Spain, he even
had to cut his living cost,
which meant skipping
meals and eating tuyo
(dried fish). Rizal also had
problems in paying rent
which forced him to move
from one place to another.
Nevertheless, Rizal never
lost focus on his mission,
on his first visit to a foreign
country; he witnessed how
people in Singapore
displayed a carefree
attitude in whatever they
did. This was because their
rights as citizens were
respected and their
authorities were not
abusive. He also traveled to
Ceylon (now Sri Lanka),
Egypt, Italy, and France
before finally arriving in
Barcelona, Spain.
In Spain, Rizal regularly
met with some of his
former schoolmates from
Ateneo Municipal and this
partially relieved his
homesickness. He also
wrote articles for a
newspaper based in
Manila, one of which was
his first published essay El
Amor Patrio (Love of
Country). He also spent his
time growing his personal
library that included books
on the lives of the
president of the United
States and the history of
the English civil war. In his
collection of books, Rizal
had two favorites—Uncle
Tomʼs Cabin (1852) by
Harriet Beecher Stowe and
The Wandering Jew (1844)
by Eugene Sue. These two
books made Rizal
empathetic towards the
less fortunate and
reminded him of the unjust
relationship between
Filipinos and Spaniards.
This became Rizalʼs
motivation to start drafting
his own book.
Aside from reading and
writing, Rizal was also
overwhelmed by courage
and camaraderie displayed
by the Freemasonry. It did
not take long before Rizal
joined their ranks. Through
the influence of his uncle
Jose Alberto, Rizal was
given access to the Acacia
Lodge of the Masonic
Fraternity.

Rizal also met Don Pablo

Ortiga y Rey, a former
alcalde of Manila, whose
house commonly served as
a meeting place for Filipino
students in Madrid. He
soon joined the group,
Circulo Hispano-Filipino,
led by Juan Atayde. He also
regularly convened with his
Filipino friends from the Ls
Indios Bravos that included
renowned painters Juan
Luna and Felix
Resurreccion Hidalgo.
Rizal also busied himself
with learning different
languages such as English,
German, and French.
Despite his many
engagements, Rizal still
found time to continue
drafting his book. One of
his greatest influences was
Dr. Feodor Jagor, a German
scientist and traveler,
whom he met in Berlin. Dr.
Jagorʼs book inspired Rizal
to do something to
emphasize that education
is the answer to
Philippinesʼ current social
condition. The biggest
contributor to Rizalʼs
venture in writing was Dr.
Maximo Viola. He financed
the publication of Rizalʼs
first book, Noli Me Tangere,
in 1887 with 2,000 initial
copies. Copies were given
to Viola and Rizalʼs friends
in Spain, while others were
shipped to the Philippines
that then reached the
hands of the Governor
General of the Philippines
and the Archbishop of
Manila.

After the publication of Noli

Me Tangere, Viola
accompanied Rizal to
Austria to finally meet Dr.
Ferdinand Blumentritt, with
whom Rizal exchanged
letters and books for
several years and whom he
considered as one of his
advisers. After a few trips
to Rome and others parts
of Italy, Rizal returned to
the Philippines to
personally witness the
impact of his novel.

EXERCISE 3.2.1
Scrapbooking/Travel
Journal Projects

Instructions: When Jose

Rizal left the Philippines for
Spain, he was able to meet
many people and visit many
places. In each of Rizalʼs
stopovers, identify a
person of a place he
visited. You may make a
scrapbook or a travel
Journal, highlighting Rizalʼs
journey to:
1. Singapore
2. Colombo, Sri Lanka
3. Egypt
4. Naples, Italy
5. Marseilles, France
6. Barcelona, Spain
7. Paris, France
8. Berlin, Germany
9. Prague, Czech Republic
10. Vienna, Austria
11. Bavaria, Germany
12. Geneva, Switzerland
13. Milan, Italy

Section 3
THE PROPAGANDA
MOVEMENT AND LA
SOLIDARIDAD

This section provides a

summary of Rizalʼs
contributions to the
Propaganda Movement
that called for reforms from
the Spanish colonial
government in the
Philippines. In particular,
this section explains the
principle of assimilation as
advocated by the
Propaganda Movement led
by La Solidaridad.

INTENDED LEARNING
OUTCOMES
At the end of this section,
the students should be
able to:
1. Analyze the different
works of Rizal as a
propagandist and their
significance to the
development of Rizalʼs
nationalist consciousness;
2. Explain the principle of
assimilation advocated by
the Propaganda Movement;
and
3. Assess Rizalʼs
involvement in the
Propaganda Movement.

DIAGNOSTICS
The Power of Writing

Instruction: Jose Rizal is

known for his literary
greatness. As early as 8
years old, he was already
able to showcase his talent
in writing, which can be
seen in the letters and
poems he wrote such as Sa
aking Mga Kababata (To my
Fellow Youth). More than
that, Jose Rizal is also
known for his two major
works, the novels Noli Me
Tangere and El
Filibusterismo. He also
wrote many poems and
article for La Solidaridad
including La Juventud
Filipina (To the Filipino
Youth), They Ask me for
Verses, and the Council of
the Gods. Rizal used the
power of writing to voice
and complaints against the
Spanish government and
friars. On the space
provided, write a three-
stanza poem conveying
your commendations and/
or concern about the
Philippine government
under the Duterte
administration.

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Prior to the arrival of Rizal
in Spain, many Filipino
students were already
studying there like Pedro
Paterno and Gregorio
Sancianco who were both
active Filipino nationalists.
When Rizal arrived in Spain
in 1882, there was an
atmosphere of activism led
mostly by students. Around
this time, Spainʼs
government was in disarray
because the newly adopted
1876 constitution created a
power vacuum. As political
parties tried to consolidate
their power and politicians
tried to secure their
personal agendas, shifting
from one political bloc to
another became common.
Corrupting was prevalent in
the Spanish government.
Furthermore, a series of
government and cabinet
reorganizations followed
shortly after every change
of party alignment.
In addition, many people in
Spain were illiterate
became of that lack of
primary and secondary
schools. Most importantly,
the Church was still a
formidable force in almost
every aspect of the
Spanish society.
This was the situation in
Spain that Rizal witnessed
when he arrived. He was
also welcomed in an
atmosphere of liberation
which exposed him to ideas
formerly foreign to him.
This was when he became
aware of the concept of
assimilation wherein the
Philippines can be
considered as a province of
Spain and not just a
tributary-country colony.
For Rizal, this meant that
Filipinos could be equal to
the Spaniards.
Shortly after arriving in
Barcelona, Rizal started
contributing to the short-
lived bilingual-newspaper,
Diariong Tagalog, together
with Marcelo H. del Pelar.
Most of Rizalʼs
contributions were focused
on the ideas of national
regeneration

through education.
Likewise, Rizal also
contributes to the other
publication led by Garciano
Lopez Jaena. Jaena was
the first to lead a series of
protests in writing against
the injustices of the
Spaniards in the Philippines
in the newspaper Los Dos
Mundos. Later on, Rizal
found himself writing side-
by-side with Jaenaʼs
criticism against the
Spanish colonial regime.

In 1883, Rizalʼs resentment

against Spaniards
intensified when he
received a letter from his
brother Paciano. The letter
informed him about the
new Calamba parish priest,
Father Villafrance, who was
threatening their father and
demanding for advance
rental payments.
In 1884, Jaena and Rizal
delivered speeches at the
Exposicion de Bellas Artes
in Madrid where two
Filipino painters were given
recognition, Juan Luna
received an award for his
Spoliarium and Felix
Ressurreccion Hidalgo for
his Virgenes Cristianas
Expuestas al Populacho.. in
their speeches, Jaena,
condemned the abuses of
the friars and the Spanish
colonial government in the
Philippines, whereas Rizal
encouraged the Filipino
youth to follow in the
footsteps of Luna and
Hidalgo.

Rizalʼs speech received

various interpretations
both from Spain and the
Philippines. In the
Philippines, Rizalʼs speech
was considered seditious.
Many believed the Rizal
could never return to
Philippines again as long as
it was a colony of Spain.
It was in 1885 that Rizal
became more active in
contributing to various
newspapers. In 1888, Rizal
joined an organization
composed of Filipino
liberals exiled in Spain, the
La Solidaridad. The
organization aimed to raise
the awareness of Spain on
the needs of its colony, the
Philippines. Galicano
Apacible, Rizalʼs cousin,
issued a newspaper of the
same name. it was
published in Barcelona.
Jaena and later on, del Pilar
edited the newspaper while
Rizal was an active and
significant contributor. It
served as the principal
organ of reform movement.
Most of the articles
featured in La Solidaridad
talked about the possibility
of the Philippines
becoming a province of
Spain with equal rights
before the law, and
recognition of the freedom
of speech and assembly.
One of Rizalʼs most
important contributions
was the Letter to the Young
Women of Malolos
published on February 22,
1889. It recognized the
efforts and bravery of 20
women from Malolos who
wrote a petition letter to
Governor General Valeriano
Weyler to allow them to put
up a night school where
they could study the
Spanish language under
the tutelage of Teodoro
Sandiko. Though the
petition was initially denied
because of the pressures
and influence of the friars,
the perseverance of the
women of Malolos
prevailed.
Jose Rizal also made a
fearless forecast on the
future of the Philippines
within a hundred years in
his work, The Philippines a
Century Hence. It alayzes
the various causes of the
miseries suffered by the
Filipino people under the
Spanish colonizer. In
connection to this, Rizal
wrote another essay
published in La Solidaridad
in Madrid in 1890 titled The
Indolence of the Filipino, as
a response to the
accusations of the
Spaniards that the Filipinos
were indolence. Rizal
argued that several factors
can be identified for such
and most can be rooted in
the abuses committed by
the Spaniards directed to
the Filipinos. Jose Rizalʼs
outstanding talent and
passion for writing, as
evidenced by his numerous
works, greatly antagonized
the friars who were the
usual target of his
criticism.

Photo taken from the Rizal

Museum
in Rizals Shrine, Calamba,
Laguna
After Jaena quit writing for
the group, del Pilar
assumed leadership. There
were stories that Rizal was
offered position of editor
but rejected it as he
thought it might create a
rift between the two
propagandistas. Soon,
Rizal also stopped writing
for the newspaper to
decided his time in
addressing the Calamba
agrarian dispute that was
further fueled by the
eviction of the Mercado
family from the Dominican
lands.

EXERCISE 3.3.2
Responding to the Letter to
the Young Women in
Malolos.

Name:
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Instructions: The Legend of
Mariang Makiling is a
popular Filipino folktale.
Even before Jose Rizal
wrote his version of the
folktale, it already had
different versions.
Research on Rizalʼs version
of the legend of Mariang
Makiling and write your
own short story that talk
about any contemporary
social or political issues.

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____________ EXERCISE 3.3.3
A Fearless Forecast

Instructions: Using any

meme generator app or
website, create your own
meme about any political,
social, environmental, or
cultural issues. You may
use Livememe,
Quickmeme, Meme
Generatoe, AutoMotivator,
etc. Submit your meme
creation to our Google
classroom.
Example of Memes:
Section 4
In the Eyes of Noli Me
Tangere

This section provides a

summary of Rizalʼs novel,
Noli Me Tangere. It focuses
on the symbolic
representations used by
Rizal in depicting the
social, cultural, and
political issues during the
Spanish colonial era. This
section presents the
context in which Noli Me
Tangere was written and
published, as well as the
manner of its distribution.

INTENDED LEARNING
OUTCOMES
At the end of this section,
the students should be
able to:
1. Appraise important
characters in the novel and
identify their symbolic
representations as used by
Rizal in the novel;
2. Analyze the present
Philippine situation
critically through the
examples provided in Noli
Me Tangere; and
3. Assess how Rizalʼs
message in Noli Me
Tangere can be applied to
the social conditions of
21st century Philippines.
In 1876, Jose Rizal initially
took up Philosophy at the
University of Santo Tomas,
but heeding the advice of
his Jesuit friend, Rizal
opted to take medicine
instead in 1878 which he
was not able to complete.
In 1882, Rizal left the
Philippines to go to Spain
because of a secret
mission attested by a deal
between him and his older
brother Paciano Mercado.
The highlight of the deal
between the two brothers
was that on one hand, the
young Rizal would have to
observe life overseas and
prepare himself to liberate
the Filipino people from the
tyrannical abuse of the
Spaniards. On the other
hand, Paciano Mercado
would take the
responsibility of looking
after the family in the
Philippines and finance
Rizalʼs studies overseas.
The mission was eve kept
from their parents.
After finishing his medical
studies in 1885 at the
Universidad Central de
Madrid, Rizal was able to
finish the manuscript of
Noli Me Tangere in 1887. To
keep up with the very
expensive publication cost,
Rizal had to remove some
chapters of the novel to
reduce the number of
pages. With the help of
some friends in Madrid, the
loan offer of Maximo Viola,
and portions of his
allowance sent by his
brother Paciano, Rizal was
able to print 2000 copies of
the novel in Berlin. He sent
some of the copies to his
friends in Madrid, to
Ferdinand Blumentritt, and
to the Philippines wherein
the Archbishop of Manila
immediately denounced it
as heretical, impious, and
scandalous.
The story of how Noli Me
Tangere was distributed in
the Philippines, amidst the
strict censorship
implemented by the
Spaniards, can be
attributed to the efforts of
Jose Ma. Basa, the hero-
smuggler of the
Propaganda Movement.
Through his connections
and thriving business, he
was able to arrange Hong
Kong-Manila trips for
Filipinos which became the
way for subversive and
anti-friar pamphlets to
reach the hands of the
Filipinos. One of them was
Noli Me Tangere. According
to reports, the Filipino
travels who served as
couriers were instructed to
disembark the ships
without the books which
were usually hidden in the
coal bin of the ships. They
would then hire a carretela
and the books, usually
placed inside buri sacks,
would be loaded to the
ship. They would ask
permission from a crew
member to walk back to the
ship leaving the buri sacks
in the carretela. After
sometimes, the cochero
would inspect the buri
sacks and find the books.
He would either dispose or
leave them and another
arranged carretela would
pick up the sacks for
people to freely get copies,
thus disseminating them to
the Filipinos.
The role of the Noli Me
Tangere in the
development of Filipino
consciousness can never
be discounted. However, its
significance in the 21st
century has greatly
diminished considering
that the Philippines is no
longer a colony and has
long been an independent
nation. Nevertheless, many
of the points raised by Rizal
in Noli Me Tangere remain
relevant today especially
with the current threats to
Philippine sovereignty.
EXERCISE 3.4.1 Detective
Work: Decoding Symbolism

Name:
______________________________
_____ Section:
_______________

Instructions: Jose Rizal

personally designed the
cover of Noli Me Tangere
such that it contains
symbols that depict the
social conditions of the
Philippines when it was
written. Examine the cover
design, Noli Me Tangere
and answer the questions
that follow.