Noli Me Tangere

touch me…………………… not

 Noli Me Tangere is a Latin phrase
meaning “touch me not” taken from the
gospel of St. John 20:16, the statement
was uttered by the Risen Christ to Mary
Magdalene on His resurrection.
 Dedicated by Rizal “to my fatherland:
 Noli depicts Philippine national culture
and describes a people’s plight and
aspirations.
 It focuses also on man’s insatiable
greed of power.
 The social cancer should not be
taken lightly, thus, Noli is a book
that invites the reader to probe into
the afflictions of the Philippine
society.
 The social cancer is the cursed
illness that hinders the healing of
our nation and adds more afflictions
to the Filipino people.
 Rizal does not prescribe the
remedy for social cancer, he only
exposed it. He invites the readers
to place themselves in the shoes
of his characters which he delivers
the message.
 This is a call to every Filipino to
examine one’s self as a citizen
involved in alienating the social,
economic, and political ills
besetting the country.
 Literally, Noli Me Tangere serves
as a prohibition or as a warning.
 Figuratively, it pertains to pain
whose intensity should not be
aggravated even with the slightest
of touch.
 Paradoxically, it prohibits getting
near to it, yet, in truth, it is a
condition that requires radical
excision.
 Unlike other works of fictional
literature, Noli was a story of
Philippine conditions during the
last decades of Spanish rule.
 Rizal even said, “the facts I
narrated there are all true and
have happened; I can prove them”.
The characters and their personification
 To understand the novel better, one has to
know first the personality of the author.
1. Father Damaso embodies hypocrisy, cruelty
and promiscuity.
2. Father Salvi exemplifies deceit,
covetousness, hypocrisy and promiscuity.
3. Ibarra, Tasio and Elias incorporate the
intellectuals and patriots.
4. Ma. Clara is the symbol of innocence,
submissiveness and the passivity.
5. Basilio and Crispin represent children of
abuse and broken dreams.
6. Capitan Tiyago typifies some Filipinos who
would go to great extent to attain power and
social status like bribery and giving lavish
parties and gifts.
7. Dona Consolacion personifies the “inspiration”
of the Alferez and the cilvil guards who claims
to be an “espanola” who cannot speak tagalog
and holds Filipions in contempt.
8. Sisa represents the vicious cycle of poverty
and abused women
 9. Dona Victorina depicts the alienated
Filipino woman bent on marrying one
with prestige and high station in life only
to find out she married a lame,
submissive and timid man with a
spurious degree in medicine
Who are the
“Damaso”
of the
Philippine
society
today?
 Who are the
“Crisostomo
Ibarra” of the
Philippine society
today?
 Who are the
“Maria Clara” of
the Philippine
society today?
 Who are the
“Crispin and
Basilio” of the
Philippine society
today?
 Who are the “Sisa”
of the Philippine
society today?
 Who are the
“Capitan Tiyago”
of the Philippine
society today?
What was the context in which Rizal
wrote Noli Me Tangere?
What Literary strategies did Rizal use
in witing the novel?
What does this novel indicate about
national consciousness?
Looking at the cover of Noli,
can you identify the different
symbols?

 What do you think are the

meanings of these symbols?
 The cover of Noli ( personally designed
by Rizal): the symbols and their
meanings
 The title prominently crosses the cover,
the style of its prints seem as if they
were written in blood, an augury of pain
and suffering
 The profile of a woman (showing the
silhouette of Maria Clara) on the upper
left side of the cover may symbolize
constancy
 The tombstone with a cross symbolizing
religious faith with a laurel leaves
(courage) and the flower of Pomelo,
worn by the bride and groom at the
wedding symbolizing purity.
 The words partly covered by the title are
the words secret and inner dedication of
Rizal to his parents.
 To the left of the title the flower of
Mirasol (sunflowers), representing the
youth seeking the sun.
 The whip, chain, the instrument of
torture and the helmet of civil guard
symbolize the governing authorities on
Philippine soil – the church, the civil and
military officials.
 The friar’s feet symbolize tyranny
 Bamboo represents Filipinos’ character
of resiliency and flexibility (ability to
bend during crises)
 Burning torch or a crown? Symbolizing
what?
 WRITE DOWN THE SYNOPSIS OF
Noli Me Tangere
Questions ( from Seeds of Revolution by Sonia Daquila)

1. What is meant by Noli Me Tangere? What

makes social issues so delicate? Why does
the novel warn the readers not to touch these
issues? Explain
2. Why are Philippine social problems
compared with cancer? Do you agree that the
nucleus of social cancer is greed for power?
Why?
3. Who are the protagonists and antagonists in
Noli Me Tangere? Describe each one briefly.
What are the reasons why Fr. Damaso
dislikes Ibarra?
4.Sisa goes mad due to her harsh treatment by
the Guardia Civil, the death of one son, and
the disappearance of another. Critics have
said that she is symbolic of the oppressed
mother country. Do you agree with this
notion? Are there parallels with Maria Clara
and her fate and, to a lesser degree, Tiago’s?
5.What secret was revealed by Lt. Guevarra to
Ibarra and how did he react to it? If you were
Ibarra how would you feel and what will you
do?
6.Getting the neck of a chicken tinola sounds
petty; yet it has a funny but satirical message.
What could it be and why?
 What is distinctive about El
FIibusterismo compared with Noli Me
Tangere?
 How did this novel contribute to
national consciousness and
revolution?
 Noli and El Fili must be emphasized
not as history but as works of fiction
( although characters & places may have
references in reality)
Noli compared to Fili
 The two novels vary in many respects:
Romantic – work of Political – work of the head, a
the heart, a book of book of thought,
feelings. It contains bitterness,
It has freshness, color, hatred, pain, violence,
humor, lightness and and sorrow.
wit.

38 chapters 64 chapters

Savior : Maximo Viola Savior : Valentin Ventura

Writing started in Madrid – 1885- started in Calamba , October

and finished in 1887 1887 and finished 1891
Rizal was influenced
by fictional
characters
 He borrowed heavily

from French novelist

Alexander Dumas
(The Count of Monte
Cristor) esp. in the
character of Danton
used in the character
of Simoun
Rizal was also influenced by
events that happened
centuries before
 Simoun’s plot to blow up the

wedding party resembles the

17th cent. gunpowder plot in
England when Guy Fawkes
tried to blow up the
Parliament.
El Filibusterismo – The Rebel

The title is inspired by the word “filibustero”

Revolution – independence

“What if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow”

Dedicated to GOMBURZA – February 17, 1872

(Cavite Mutiny of 1872)

Crisostomo Ibarra (Simoun) disguised as a jeweler, returns to the

Philippines to start a revolution and get revenge, and to rescue
Maria Clara.
 All terrible experiences of Rizal’s family
and the people of Calamba appear in
the novel (agrarian problems)

The agrarian problem (Hacienda Calamba)

reflects the events that took place when
Rizal was there in 1887-1888.
The Negros agrarian experience
 End: Florentino then takes Simoun’s remaining
jewels and throws them into the Pacific Ocean
with the corals hoping that they would not be
used by the greedy, and then when the time
came that it would be used for the greater good.
 as a political novel “the end is not a worthy climax to a
work so beautiful”
 Do you like the “ending” of the novel? Why?