CHAPTER XLITERARY WORKS

THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS CHAPTER IS THE LEGACY OF RIZAL IN LITERATURE,WHICH REVEALS HIS INTENSE NATIONALISM AND PERSONAL

IDEOLOGY. HE WROTE POEMS AND ESSAYS ON EDUCATION AND RELIGION, AMONG OTHER TOPICS AND FOR HIS COUNTRY, THE PHILIPPINES.

• SA AKING MGA KABATA• TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH• THROUGH EDUCATION THE COUNTRY RECEIVES LIGHT• THE INTIMATE ALLIANCE BETWEEN RELIGION AND

GOOD EDUCATION• TO THE CHILD JESUS• TO THE VIRGIN MARY• MEMORIES OF MY TOWN• HYMN TO LABOR• KUNDIMAN

• THEY ASKED ME FOR VERSES• TO MY MUSE• TO THE FLOWERS OF HEIDELBERG• TO JOSEPHINE• THE SONG OF THE TRAVELER• SONG OF MARIA CLARA• HYMN TO TALISAY• MY RETREAT• MY LAST FAREWELL

SA AKING MGA KABATA

• IS A POEM ABOUT THE LOVE OF ONE'S NATIVE LANGUAGE WRITTEN IN TAGALOG. IT IS WIDELY ATTRIBUTED TO THE FILIPINO NATIONAL HERO JOSÉ RIZAL, WHO SUPPOSEDLY WROTE IT IN 1869 AT THE AGE OF EIGHT. THE POEM WAS WIDELY TAUGHT IN PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS TO POINT OUT RIZAL'S PRECOCIOUSNESS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF HIS NATIONALISTIC IDEALS.

• A PASSAGE OF THE POEM OFTEN PARAPHRASED AS ANG HINDÌ MARUNONG MAGMAHAL SA SARILING WIKÀ, MASAHOL PA SA HAYOP AT MALANSANG ISD .

• IS WIDELY QUOTED TO PROMOTE THE USE OF TAGALOG AMONG FILIPINOS. IT IS ENCOUNTERED MOST FREQUENTLY DURING THE BUWAN NG WIKA ('LANGUAGE MONTH'), A COMMEMORATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FILIPINO LANGUAGE AS THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE OF THE PHILIPPINES.

TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH

• A LA JUVENTUD FILIPINA IS A POEM WRITTEN IN SPANISH BY FILIPINO WRITER AND NATIONAL HERO JOSÉ RIZAL, FIRST PRESENTED IN 1879 IN MANILA, WHILE HE WAS STUDYING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS.

• "A LA JUVENTUD FILIPINA" WAS WRITTEN BY RIZAL WHEN HE WAS ONLY EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD, AND WAS DEDICATED TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH.

• IN THE POEM RIZAL PRAISES THE BENEFITS THAT SPAIN HAD BESTOWED UPON THE PHILIPPINES. RIZAL HAD FREQUENTLY DEPICTED THE RENOWNED SPANISH EXPLORERS, GENERALS AND KINGS IN THE MOST PATRIOTIC MANNER. HE HAD PICTURED EDUCATION (BROUGHT TO THE PHILIPPINES BY SPAIN) AS "THE BREATH OF LIFE INSTILLING CHARMING VIRTUE". HE HAD WRITTEN OF ONE OF HIS SPANISH TEACHERS AS HAVING BROUGHT "THE LIGHT OF THE ETERNAL SPLENDOR".

• IN THIS POEM, HOWEVER, IT IS THE FILIPINO YOUTH WHO ARE THE PROTAGONISTS, WHOSE "PRODIGIOUS GENIUS" MAKING USE OF THAT EDUCATION TO BUILD THE FUTURE, WAS THE "BELLA ESPERANZA DE LA PATRIA MIA!" (BEAUTIFUL HOPE OF THE MOTHERLAND). SPAIN, WITH "PIOUS AND WISE HAND" OFFERED A "CROWN'S RESPLENDENT BAND, OFFERS TO THE SONS OF THIS INDIAN LAND."

• THE POEM WAS PRESENTED IN 1879 IN MANILA AT A LITERARY CONTEST HELD IN THE MANILA LYCEUM OF ART AND LITERATURE, A SOCIETY OF LITERARY MEN AND ARTISTS, WHERE HE WON THE FIRST PRIZE, COMPOSED OF A FEATHER-SHAPED SILVER PEN AND A DIPLOMA.

THROUGH EDUCATION THE COUNTRY RECEIVES LIGHT

•  THIS POEM PROVED THAT HE VALUED EDUCATION SO MUCH THAT MAY GIVE THE POWER OF THE COUNTRY TO SURVIVE FROM ANY FORCES IN THE STRUGGLES OF  SOCIETAL FREEDOM . THROUGH EDUCATION, IT CREATES THE VIRTUE OF POWER TO HUMAN RACE. THIS GIVES SECURITY AND PEACE TO THE MOTHERLAND AS THE FILIPINOS WOULD LEARN THE SCIENCES AND ARTS AS THE BASIS TO CALM DOWN THE LIFE OF THE SOCIETY.

• IN THE POEM #THROUGH EDUCATION THE COUNTRY RECEIVES LIGHT

THE INTIMATE ALLIANCE BETWEEN RELIGION AND GOOD EDUCATION

• THE INTIMATE ALLIANCE BETWEEN RELIGION AND GOOD EDUCATION BY: DR. JOSE P. RIZAL IN 1876, RIZAL WROTE POEMS ON VARIOUS TOPICS - RELIGION, EDUCATION, CHILDHOOD MEMORIES AND WAR. RIZAL WROTE THIS POEM DURING THE SUMMER OF APRIL 1876, BEFORE ENTERING HIS FIFTH YEAR IN ATENEO MUNICIPAL IN JUNE. "EDUCATION WITHOUT GOD IS NOT TRUE EDUCATION." AS THE CLIMBING IVY OVER LOFTY ELMCREEPS TORTUOUSLY, TOGETHER THE ADORNMENTOF THE VERDANT PLAIN, EMBELLISHINGEACH OTHER AND TOGETHER GROWING,BUT SHOULD THE KINDLY ELM REFUSE ITS AIDTHE IVY WOULD IMPOTENT AND FRIENDLESS WITHER;SO IS EDUCATION TO RELIGIONBY SPIRITUAL ALLIANCE FIRMLY BOUND.THROUGH RELIGION, EDUCATION GAINS RENOWN, ANDWOE TO THE IMPIOUS MIND THAT BLINDLY SPURNINGTHE SAPIENT TEACHINGS OF RELIGION, THISUNPOLLUTED FOUNTAINHEAD FORSAKES.THE INTIMATE ALLIANCE BETWEEN RELIGION AND GOOD EDUCATION

• RIZAL SHARED HIS THOUGHT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION TO ENLIGHTEN THE NATION WHICH WAS USEFUL TO GAIN SOCIETAL FREEDOM FOR EVERY NATION. IT MAY ALSO PROVIDE US THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ATTITUDE TO EXPAND THE HORIZON OF OUR THOUGHTS. HOWEVER, THIS WOULD NOT BE ENOUGH TO BE PROPERLY EDUCATED. RIZAL THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS REALLY AN INTIMATE ALLIANCE BETWEEN RELIGION AND GOOD EDUCATION.

TO THE CHILD JESUS WHY HAVE YOU COME TO EARTH,CHILD-GOD, IN A POOR MANGER?DOES FORTUNE FIND YOU A STRANGERFROM THE MOMENT OF YOUR BIRTH?

Alas, of heavenly stocknow turned an earthly resident!Do you not wish to be presidentbut the shepherd of your flock?

was written in Spanish by Jose Rizal in 1875 at the age of 14. The poem is an octave real or a short poem with eight verses only which was actually according to the Spanish standard of writing poems. religious poem

TO THE VIRGIN MARY

• THIS WAS THE FIRST SAD SONNET POEM OF RIZAL ENTITLED “TO THE VIRGIN MARY” AS HE PROVIDED ABOUT HIS DEEP RELIGIOUS BELIEF ON HIS PAINFUL EXPERIENCES IN HIS TEENAGE LIFE. HIS DEEP COMPASSION ON RELIGION MAY SHOW THE LOVE AND CARE OF THE VIRGIN MARY. RIZAL BELIEVED THE POWER OF PRAYER THROUGH THE VIRGIN MARY. THE SUFFERINGS, DEPRIVATIONS AND SUPPRESSIONS OCCURRED IN LIFE MAY BE BEST ADDRESSED THROUGH PRAYER OF THE VIRGIN MARY TO PROVIDE PEACE, LOVE, HOPE AND TRANQUILLITY EVEN AT THE PEAK OF HUMAN MISERY.

“MEMORIES OF MY TOWN” BY JOSE. RIZAL

• BASED ON MY INTERPRETATION, IT IS A POEM IN WHICH HIS MEMORIES OF A LIFE AS A CHILD WERE IDYLLIC AND REPRESENT THE LOVE OF NATURE AND FAMILY. THIS POEM TELLS ABOUT SOMEONE WHO LIVES THE CHAOS OF THE MODERN WORLD TO BE A LONE AND REFLECT ON NATURE. THEN AS HE SITS HE IS OVER COME WITH A SUDDEN MEMORY OF ALL THE THINGS HE SAW AS GRIEF, HE REALIZE THAT THEY WERE WHAT THEY WERE AND IT IS HIS CHOICE TO SEE THEM AS HE ONCE DID.

• THE FACT ON HIS POEM IS THE “BEAUTY OF NATURE”. HE WILL ALWAYS RECOGNIZE THE PLACE WHERE HE LIVED.WE ALL KNOW, THE NATURE IS THE ONE THING THAT CAN GIVE HAPPINESS. MOREOVER, RIZAL REMINISCES OF HIS CHILDHOOD DAYS, AS HE WRITES THAT POEM. HE SOMEHOW WISHES HE COULD REWIND THE TIME AND SPEND MORE DAYS DOING WHAT HE USED TO DO, BEING WITH THE PEOPLE HE USED TO BE WITH, AND FEELING THE SENSATIONS HE FELT AS A BOY. HE WANTS HIS INNOCENCE BACK, AND THE GREAT FEELING OF PRAYING TO GOD ALMIGHTY WITH A LITTLE CHILD'S FAITH WHICH IS BELIEVED TO BE THE PUREST OF ALL HEARTS.

HYMN TO LABOR• IN THE MEN'S CHORUS OF THE HYMN, THE GROUP CALLS FOR THEIR FELLOWS TO GO OUT INTO THE

FIELDS AND TILL THE LAND. THE MEN SAY THAT THEIR LABOR WILL SUSTAIN THE PHILIPPINES AND THAT THEY MUST OVERCOME ALL ODDS, SUCH AS THE HOT RAYS OF THE SUN AND BACK-BREAKING WORK, IN ORDER TO DO SO.

• THE WOMEN'S STANZA OF THE HYMN SUPPORTS AND FORTIFIES THE MEN'S WILL TO WORK. THE WOMEN'S CHORUS SAYS THAT THE MEN SHOULD "GO TO WORK WITH SPIRITS HIGH" BECAUSE THE WOMEN ARE AT HOME WATCHING OVER THE HOUSE AND THE CHILDREN. THE WOMEN ARE TASKED WITH TEACHING THEIR CHILDREN TO LOVE "VIRTUE, KNOWLEDGE AND COUNTRY.“

• THE MAIDENS' STANZA FURTHER SOLIDIFIES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE YOUNG MEN'S LABOR. THE MAIDENS' CHORUS STATES THAT THE LOVE OF YOUTH IS SUSTAINED WITH THE STRUGGLE AND WORK OF LABOR. THE FINAL STANZA OF THE HYMN IS SUNG BY THE CHILDREN, WHO ASK FOR THE OLDER GROUPS TO TEACH THEM HOW TO FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS AND FINISH THEIR LABORIOUS TASKS.

• RIZAL CREATED THE HYMN IN AN EFFORT TO RESHAPE THE MORAL AND ETHICAL VALUES OF A FILIPINO SOCIETY THAT WAS HELD UNDER SPANISH OCCUPATION AT THE TIME.

KUNDIMAN

• WROTE “KUNDIMAN” IN TAGALOG IN SEPTEMBER 12,1891. A KUNDIMAN IS ACTUALLY A TRADITIONAL FILIPINO LOVE SONG USED BY A YOUNG MAN TO SERENADE THE WOMAN OF HIS LOVE. THE THEME OF RIZAL’S “KUNDIMAN” IS HIS INTENSE LOVE FOR HIS MOTHERLAND. HIS WORDS REFLECTED HIS OPTIMISM THAT PHILIPPINES WOULD BE FREED FROM INJUSTICE AND BONDAGE.

THEY ASKED ME FOR VERSES

• JOSE RIZAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ACCLAIMED POET AFTER HIS MARTYRDOM. ZEALOUS  POETS AND WRITERS WERE INSPIRED BY RIZAL’S WORKS IN EVERY GENERATION. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN WHATEVER ARTISTIC AND LITERARY GENRES REVEAL FILIPINO PATRIOTISM IN THE MIDST OF REJECTION AND PERSECUTION.

• JOSE RIZAL’S POEM BELOW WAS WRITTEN WHILE HE WAS A MEMBER OF CIRCULO HISPANO FILIPINO.  ME PIDEN VERSOS (THEY ASKED ME FOR VERSES) REFLECTED HOW SAD IT WAS FOR HIM TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO STEER EMOTIONS THROUGH HIS POEMS YET STIFLED AND MUTED BY THE POWERFUL AND OPPRESSIVE SPANIARDS.

• THE DREAMS OF YOUNGER HOURS,LOVE, ENTHUSIASM, DESIRE,HAVE BEEN LEFT THERE UNDER THE SKIESOF THAT FAIR LAND OF FLOWERS.OH, DO NOT ASK OF MY HEARTTHAT LANGUISHES, SONGS OF LOVE!FOR, AS WITHOUT PEACE I TREADTHIS DESERT OF NO SURPRISES,I FEEL THAT MY SOUL AGONIZESAND THAT MY SPIRIT IS DEAD.

.

TO MY MUSE

• A MI MUSA OR TO MY MUSE IS A POEM PUBLISHED IN LA SOLIDARIDAD USING THE PEN NAME, LAONG LAAN. IT WAS WRITTEN BY JOSE RIZAL IN 15 DECEMBER 1890 BECAUSE OF HIS DISAPPOINTMENT OVER THE HALF-HEARTED ATTITUDE OF THE FILIPINO EXPATRIATES WORKING FOR THE REFORMS IN SPAIN. THIS POEM EXPRESSED HIS BITTERNESS OVER THE TROUBLES IN CALAMBA.

• IN THE POEM, RIZAL PERSUADES HIS MUSE TO LEAVE HIM, BUT WHILE THE MUSE GOES AWAY, HE PLEADS HER TO RETURN:

TO THE FLOWERS OF HEIDELBERG• INTERPRETATIONS:

1. RIZAL USED THE FLOWERS AS HIS SYMBOL OF HIS LOVE FOR HIS MOTHERLAND.2. FLOWERS' REDUCED QUALITY REFERS TO RIZAL'S USELESS PRESENCE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY.3.HE WAS HOMESICK FOR HIS NATIVE PHILIPPINES.4. "TO THE FLOWERS OF HEIDELBERG" WAS NOT LITERALLY ABOUT FLOWERS, HE WAS REFERRING TO THE FRAULEINS. IN 1882, RIZAL LEFT FOR SPAIN TO PURSUE A MEDICAL DEGREE. RIZAL HAD A PERSONAL REASON AS WELL AS AN ALTRUISTIC REASON FOR HIS DECISION TO STUDY ABROAD. HE WANTED TO BECOME AN EYE SPECIALIST IN ORDER TO CURE HER MOTHER FROM AN EYE AILMENT. POEMS ARE SIMPLY REFLECTIONS OF AN AUTHOR’S FEELINGS BASED ON HIS EXPERIENCES AND PRESENT SITUATION. WHILEIN HEIDELBERG EXPERIENCING THE FEELING OF NOSTALGIA FOR HIS PARENTS AND HIS COUNTRY, RIZAL WROTE THE POEM"TO THE FLOWERS OF HEIDELBERG"

WHEN RIZAL SOARED TO HEIDELBERG IN 1886, HE WAS FASCINATED WITH THE BLOOM FLOWERS HE SAW IN THE NECKARRIVER. THOSE FLOWERS REMINDED HIM OF THE FLOWERS IN THEIR HOME’S GARDEN IN CALAMBA BECAUSE OF HIS MOOD OF HOMESICKNESS.IN HEIDELBERG, HE WAS ASTOUND WITH THE FLOWERS ALONG THE NECKAR RIVER, ESPECIALLY THE FORGET-ME-NOTS, WHICH MADE HIM COMPOSE THE POEM, A LAS FLORES DE HEIDELBERG (TO THE FLOWERS OF HEIDELBERG), ON APRIL 22, 1886

HIS POEM, TO THE FLOWERS OF HEIDELBERG IS SIMPLY AN EXPRESSION OF HIS SADNESS AS HE REMEMBERED HIS FAMILY WHOM HE LOVES SO MUCH. FORGET ME NOT FLOWERS

TO JOSEPHINE

• RIZAL DEDICATED THIS POEM TO JOSEPHINE BRACKEN, AN IRISH WOMAN WHO WENT TO DAPITAN ACCOMPANYING A MAN SEEKING RIZAL'S SERVICES AS AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST.

JOSEPHINE, JOSEPHINEWHO TO THESE SHORES HAVE COMELOOKING FOR A NEST, A HOME,LIKE A WANDERING SWALLOW;IF YOUR FATE IS TAKING YOUTO JAPAN, CHINA OR SHANGHAI,DON'T FORGET THAT ON THESE SHORESA HEART FOR YOU BEATS HIGH.

THE SONG OF THE TRAVELER

• CANTO DEL VIAJERO (SONG OF THE TRAVELER) IS A POEM WRITTEN BY THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HERO, JOSE RIZAL. THIS POEM IS KNOWN TO BE DOLEFUL AMONGST HIS CREATIONS AND WAS WRITTEN DURING HIS EXILE. HE WAS BOUND TO JOURNEY “FROM SHORE TO SHORE”, ACCOMPANIED ONLY BY MEMORIES OF HIS JOYOUS DAYS. ON THE 17TH DAY OF DECEMBER 1895, HE WROTE A LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL, REQUESTING FOR A POST IN THE MEDICAL CORPS OF THE SPANISH ARMY IN CUBA, ALSO A SPANISH COLONY AT THE TIME. HE WAS LONGING TO BOARD AGAIN ON HIS TRAVELS FOR HE SINGS: “LEAVE THOU TO OTHERS THE SONGS OF LOVE, TO OTHERS THE JOYS; YOU AGAIN DEPART.” HE DID PROCEED TRAVELING AGAIN, IN JULY 1896, BUT HE REACHED ONLY SPAIN AND WENT BACK TO THE PHILIPPINES AS A PRISONER.

SONG OF MARIA CLARA• UNANG SAKNONG:PINAPAHAYAG NI JOSE RIZAL KUNG GAANO KASAYA SA ISANG LUGAR NA

PINANGGALINGAN MO AT KUNG GAANORIN KASARAP SA PAKIRAMDAM NA DOON KA RIN MAMAMATAY.• IKALAWANG SAKNONG:IPINAPAKITA SA SAKNONG NA ITO KUNG PAANO ANG PAGMAMAHAL NG ISANG INA.• IKATLONG SAKNONG:IPINAPAHIWATIG NITO KUNG GAANO KASARAP IALAY ANG BUHAY NATIN SA ATING

BANSA. SA PAMAMAGITANNITO, MAPAPAKITA NATIN ANG ATING PAGMAMAHAL SA ATING SARILING BAYAN KATULAD NG ATINGPAGMAMAHAL SA ATING MGA INA.

• CANTO DE MARIA CLARA OR SONG OF MARIA CLARA IS A POEM WRITTEN BY JOSE RIZAL IN 1887. IT IS A VERSE IN NOLI ME TANGERE THAT HAD BEEN SET TO MUSIC BY JUAN HERNANDEZ. MARIA CLARA IS A CHARACTER IN JOSE RIZAL’S NOVEL “NOLI ME TANGERE.” SHE IS THE LOVE INTEREST OF THE MAIN PROTAGONIST OF THE NOVEL,JUAN CRISOSTOMO IBARRA. LATER, UPON HEARING OF HIS DEATH, SHE WENT ON TO BECOME A NUN. THE POEM CAN BE FOUND IN CHAPTER 23 AND WAS TRANSLATED IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.

• THE CHARACTER, MARIA CLARA SANG IT WHILE HAVING A PICNIC NEAR THE LAKE WITH HER FRIENDS, UPON THEIR REQUEST. IT IS A MELODRAMATIC SONG BECAUSE IT IS A FIGURATIVE DEFINITION OF PATRIOTISM. IT ALSO SHOWED RIZAL’S UNDYING COMMITMENTS AND SENTIMENTS TO HIS COUNTRY. THE POEM DESCRIBED HOW SWEET THE HOURS SPENT IN A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY AS WELL AS DYING FOR THE COUNTRY.

• IN THE PRESENT TIME, A BAND NAMED CAMERAWALLS MADE UP OF CLEMENTINE (FORMERLY FROM ORANGE AND LEMONS), LAW SANTIAGO AND JOSEPH RUDICA. IT IS UNDER THEIR ALBUM POCKET GUIDE TO THE OTHER WORLD.

HYMN TO TALISAY• HIMNO A TALISAY (HYMN TO TALISAY) WAS A POEM WRITTEN BY THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HERO, [[JOSE

RIZAL | DR. JOSE RIZAL WHILE IN EXILE IN DAPITAN, RIZAL CONDUCTED HIS SCHOOL AT HIS HOME IN TALISAY, NEAR DAPITAN. IT IS ALSO WHERE HE HAD HIS FARM AND HOSPITAL. HIS FAVORITE MEETING WITH HIS STUDENTS WHO ARE MOSTLY BOYS WAS UNDER A TALISAY TREE, AFTER WHICH THE PLACE WAS NAMED. IN HONOR OF TALISAY, HE WROTE A POEM ENTITLED "HIMNO A TALISAY" FOR HIS PUPILS TO SING. HOWEVER, THE SPANIARD FIND THE POEM SUBVERSIVE, HAVING THIS POEM BEING USED BY HIS OPPONENTS AGAINST HIM DURING HIS TRIAL.

• THE POEM SPEAKS OF HOPE FOR TOMORROW, DESPITE OF THE LATE EDUCATION. THE CHILDREN BELIEVES THAT DESPITE OF BEING CHILDREN, THEY WILL BE THEIR FAMILIES GUARDIAN BY MEANS OF EDUCATION.

• =• “WE ARE CHILDREN, CHILDREN BORN LATE,• BUT OUR SPIRITS ARE FRESH AND HEALTHY;• STRONG MEN SHALL WE BE TOMORROW• THAT CAN GUARD A FAMILY RIGHT.”• THE POEM ALSO GIVES PRIDE TO THE PEOPLE OF TALISAY:• “TALISAYON, THE PEOPLE CALL US:• A GREAT SOUL IN A LITTLE BODY;• IN DAPITAN AND ALL ITS REGION• TALISAY HAS NO MATCH!”

MY RETREAT• MI RETIRO (MY RETREAT) IS A POEM WRITTEN BY PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HERO JOSE RIZAL IN 1895

AS A REPLY TO HIS MOTHER’S REQUEST. . IT HAS 24 STANZAS AND 120 LINES. IN THIS POEM, RIZAL EXPRESSED HIS LONELY LIFE IN HIS EXILE IN DAPITAN. HE ALSO BECAME APPRECIATIVE AND SENTIMENTAL HERE ABOUT HIS LIFE, NATURE AND SURROUNDINGS IN DAPITAN.

• MI RETIRO SERVED AS RIZAL’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN DAPITAN. HE DESCRIBED HIS HUT NEAR THE SHORE WHERE THE SAND IS FINER. HE ALSO DESCRIBED THE SOUND OF THE ANIMALS AND CALM SKIES. THOUGH FULL OF GLOOM BECAUSE OF BEING ALONE, RIZAL MANAGED TO LIVE, MAKING HIS LOVED ONES AND THE PAST MEMORIES AS HIS INSPIRATIONS:

• “I LIVE WITH THE REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE THAT I HAVE LOVED AND HEAR THEIR NAMES STILL SPOKEN, WHO HAUNT MY MEMORY; SOME ALREADY ARE DEAD, OTHERS HAVE LONG FORGOTTEN— BUT WHAT DOES IT MATTER? I LIVE REMEMBERING THE PAST AND NO ONE CAN EVER TAKE THE PAST AWAY FROM ME.”

• RIZAL ALSO COMPARED HIMSELF TO A BUTTERFLY THAT GOES FROM FLOWER TO FLOWER TO SIP THE SWEETEST NECTAR, JUST LIKE WHEN HE WENT TO ABROAD TO PURSUE HIS STUDIES.

• “A BUTTERFLY A THIRST FOR RADIANCES AND COLORS, DREAMING OF OTHER SKIES AND OF A LARGER STRIFE, I LEFT, SCARCELY A YOUTH, MY LAND AND MY AFFECTIONS, AND VAGRANT EVEYWHERE, WITH NO QUALMS, WITH NO TERRORS, SQUANDERED IN FOREIGN LANDS THE APRIL OF MY LIFE.”

MY LAST FAREWELL• MI ÚLTIMO ADIÓS (SPANISH, “MY LAST FAREWELL”) IS A POEM WRITTEN BY PHILIPPINE 

NATIONAL HERO DR. JOSÉ RIZAL ON THE EVE OF HIS EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD ON 30 DECEMBER 1896. THE PIECE WAS ONE OF THE LAST NOTES HE WROTE BEFORE HIS DEATH; ANOTHER THAT HE HAD WRITTEN WAS FOUND IN HIS SHOE BUT BECAUSE THE TEXT WAS ILLEGIBLE, ITS CONTENTS TODAY REMAIN A MYSTERY.

• "ON THE AFTERNOON OF DEC. 29, 1896, A DAY BEFORE HIS EXECUTION, DR. JOSÉ RIZAL WAS VISITED BY HIS MOTHER, TEODORA ALONZO, SISTERS LUCIA, JOSEFA, TRINIDÁD, MARIA AND NARCISA, AND TWO NEPHEWS. WHEN THEY TOOK THEIR LEAVE, RIZAL TOLD TRINIDÁD IN ENGLISH THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE SMALL ALCOHOL STOVE (COCINILLA), NOT ALCOHOL LAMP (LAMPARILLA). THE STOVE WAS GIVEN TO NARCISA BY THE GUARD WHEN THE PARTY WAS ABOUT TO BOARD THEIR CARRIAGE IN THE COURTYARD. AT HOME, THE RIZAL LADIES RECOVERED FROM THE STOVE A FOLDED PAPER. ON IT WAS WRITTEN AN UNSIGNED, UNTITLED AND UNDATED POEM OF 14 FIVE-LINE STANZAS. THE RIZALS REPRODUCED COPIES OF THE POEM AND SENT THEM TO RIZAL'S FRIENDS IN THE COUNTRY AND ABROAD. IN 1897, MARIANO PONCE IN HONG KONG HAD THE POEM PRINTED WITH THE TITLE "MI ULTIMO PENSAMIENTO." FR. MARIANO DACANAY, WHO RECEIVED A COPY OF THE POEM WHILE A PRISONER IN BILIBID (JAIL), PUBLISHED IT IN THE FIRST ISSUE OF LA INDEPENDENCIA ON SEPT. 25, 1898 WITH THE TITLE 'ULTIMO ADIOS'."

CHAPTER XINATIONALISTIC NOVELS

THIS CHAPTER PRESENTS THE TWO HISTORICAL NVELS OF RIZAL

NOLI ME TANGERE• NOLI ME TÁNGERE (LATIN FOR TOUCH ME NOT) IS A NOVEL WRITTEN BY JOSÉ RIZAL,

CONSIDERED AS ONE OF THE NATIONAL HEROES OF THE PHILIPPINES, DURING THECOLONIZATION OF THE COUNTRY BY SPAIN TO EXPOSE THE INEQUITIES OF THE SPANISH CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND THE RULING GOVERNMENT.

• HAVING COMPLETED HIS STUDIES IN EUROPE, YOUNG JUAN CRISÓSTOMO IBARRA Y MAGSALIN CAME BACK TO THE PHILIPPINES AFTER A SEVEN-YEAR ABSENCE. IN HIS HONOR, DON SANTIAGO DE LOS SANTOS, ALSO KNOWN AS "CAPTAIN TIAGO", A FAMILY FRIEND, THREW A WELCOME HOME PARTY, ATTENDED BY FRIARS AND OTHER PROMINENT FIGURES. ONE OF THE GUESTS, FRAY DÁMASO VARDOLAGAS, THE FORMER CURATE OF SAN DIEGO, BELITTLED AND SLANDERED IBARRA.

• THE NEXT DAY, IBARRA VISITS HIS BETROTHED MARÍA CLARA, THE BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER OF CAPTAIN TIAGO AND AFFLUENT RESIDENT OF BINONDO. THEIR LONG-STANDING LOVE WAS CLEARLY MANIFESTED IN THIS MEETING, AND MARÍA CLARA CANNOT HELP BUT REREAD THE LETTERS HER SWEETHEART HAD WRITTEN HER BEFORE HE WENT TO EUROPE. BEFORE IBARRA LEFT FOR SAN DIEGO IN TIME FOR THE TOWN FIESTA, LIEUTENANT GUEVARA, A CIVIL GUARD, REVEALS TO HIM THE INCIDENTS PRECEDING THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, DON RAFAEL IBARRA, A RICH HACENDERO OF THE TOWN.

EL FILIBUSTERISMO• ALSO KNOWN BY ITS ENGLISH ALTERNATE TITLE THE REIGN OF GREED,[2] IS THE SECOND NOVEL WRITTEN BY

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HERO JOSÉ RIZAL. IT IS THE SEQUEL TO NOLI ME TANGERE AND, LIKE THE FIRST BOOK, WAS WRITTEN IN SPANISH. IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1891 IN GHENT, BELGIUM.

• THE NOVEL'S DARK THEME DEPARTS DRAMATICALLY FROM THE PREVIOUS NOVEL'S HOPEFUL AND ROMANTIC ATMOSPHERE, SIGNIFYING THE CHARACTER IBARRA'S RESORT TO SOLVING HIS COUNTRY'S ISSUES THROUGH VIOLENT MEANS, AFTER HIS PREVIOUS ATTEMPT AT REFORMING THE COUNTRY'S SYSTEM HAVE MADE NO EFFECT AND SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE WITH THE ATTITUDES OF THE SPANIARDS TOWARDS THE FILIPINOS. THE NOVEL, ALONG WITH ITS PREDECESSOR, WAS BANNED IN SOME PARTS OF THE PHILIPPINES AS A RESULT OF THEIR PORTRAYALS OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT'S ABUSE AND CORRUPTION. THESE NOVELS ALONG WITH RIZAL'S INVOLVEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS THAT AIM TO ADDRESS AND REFORM THE SPANISH SYSTEM AND ITS ISSUES LED TO RIZAL'S EXILE TO DAPITAN AND EVENTUAL EXECUTION. BOTH THE NOVEL AND ITS PREDECESSOR, ALONG WITH RIZAL'S LAST POEM, ARE NOW CONSIDERED RIZAL'S LITERARY MASTERPIECES.

• BOTH OF RIZAL'S NOVELS HAD A PROFOUND EFFECT ON PHILIPPINE SOCIETY IN TERMS OF VIEWS ABOUT NATIONAL IDENTITY, THE CATHOLIC FAITH AND ITS INFLUENCE ON FILIPINO'S CHOICE, AND THE GOVERNMENT'S ISSUES OF CORRUPTION, ABUSE, AND DISCRIMINATION, AND ON A LARGER SCALE, THE ISSUES RELATED TO THE EFFECT OF COLONIZATION ON PEOPLE'S LIVES AND THE CAUSE FOR INDEPENDENCE. THESE NOVELS LATER ON INDIRECTLY BECAME THE INSPIRATION TO START THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION.

• THROUGHOUT THE PHILIPPINES, THE READING OF BOTH THE NOVEL AND ITS PREDECESSOR IS NOW MANDATORY FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE ARCHIPELAGO, ALTHOUGH IT IS NOW READ USING ENGLISH, FILIPINO, AND THE PHILIPPINES' REGIONAL LANGUAGES.

CHAPTER XIISELECTED LETTERS AND ESSAY

THE LETTERS

• LETTER TO HIS SISTER TRINIDAD, WHICH HE WROTE IN HEIDELBERGE GERMANY ON MARCH 11,1886

• IN THE LETTER ,RIZAL DESCRIBED THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TYPICAL GERMAN WOMAN:SERIOUS,STUDIOUS, AND VERY MUCH ATTACHED TO HER WORK.

• RAISE YOUR CHILDREN CLOSE TO THE IMAGE OF THE TRUE GOD…AWAKEN AND PREPARE THE MIND OF THE CHILD FOR EVERY GOOD AND DESIRABLE IDEA .

TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS

• THE REJECTION OF THE SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY OF THE FRIARS – NOT ALL OF THE PRIESTS IN THE COUNTRY THAT TIME EMBODIED THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH.  MOST OF THEM WERE CORRUPTED BY WORLDLY DESIRES AND USED WORLDLY METHODS TO EFFECT CHANGE AND FORCE DISCIPLINE AMONG THE PEOPLE.

• THE DEFENSE OF PRIVATE JUDGMENT• QUALITIES FILIPINO MOTHERS NEED TO POSSESS – AS EVIDENCED BY THIS PORTION OF HIS LETTER, RIZAL IS

GREATLY CONCERNED OF THE WELFARE OF THE FILIPINO CHILDREN AND THE HOMES THEY GROW UP IN.• DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FILIPINO MOTHERS TO THEIR CHILDREN• DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A WIFE TO HER HUSBAND – FILIPINO WOMEN ARE KNOWN TO BE SUBMISSIVE,

TENDER, AND LOVING.  RIZAL STATES IN THIS PORTION OF HIS LETTER HOW FILIPINO WOMEN OUGHT TO BE AS WIVES, IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE IDENTITY OF THE RACE.

• COUNSEL TO YOUNG WOMEN ON THEIR CHOICE OF A LIFETIME PARTNER

RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN• JOSE RIZAL WAS GREATLY IMPRESSED BY THE FIGHTING SPIRIT THAT THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS HAD SHOWN.  IN HIS LETTER, HE

EXPRESSES GREAT JOY AND SATISFACTION OVER THE BATTLE THEY HAD FOUGHT.  IN THIS PORTION OF RIZAL’S LETTER, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT HIS ULTIMATE DESIRE WAS FOR WOMEN TO BE OFFERED THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES AS THOSE RECEIVED BY MEN IN TERMS OF EDUCATION.  DURING THOSE DAYS YOUNG GIRLS WERE NOT SENT TO SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE UNIVERSAL NOTION THAT THEY WOULD SOON ONLY BE TAKEN AS WIVES AND STAY AT HOME WITH THE CHILDREN.  RIZAL, HOWEVER, EMPHASIZES ON FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION, WHICH MUST BE GRANTED TO BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS ALIKE.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF FILIPINO MOTHERS TO THEIR CHILDREN• RIZAL STIPULATES A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT POINTS IN THIS PORTION OF HIS LETTER TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS.  THE

CENTRAL IDEA HERE, HOWEVER, IS THAT WHATEVER A MOTHER SHOWS TO HER CHILDREN IS WHAT THE CHILDREN WILL BECOME ALSO.  IF THE MOTHER IS ALWAYS KISSING THE HAND OF THE FRIARS IN SUBMISSION, THEN HER CHILDREN WILL GROW UP TO BE SYCOPHANTS AND MINDLESS FOOLS WHO DO NOTHING BUT DO AS THEY ARE TOLD, EVEN IF THE VERY NATURE OF THE TASK WOULD VIOLATE THEIR RIGHTS AS INDIVIDUALS.

QUALITIES MOTHERS HAVE TO POSSESS• RIZAL ENUMERATES THE QUALITIES FILIPINO MOTHERS HAVE TO POSSESS:• BE A NOBLE WIFE.• REAR HER CHILDREN IN THE SERVICE OF THE STATE – HERE RIZAL GIVES REFERENCE TO THE WOMEN OF SPARTA WHO EMBODY THIS

QUALITY• SET STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR FOR MEN AROUND HER.RIZAL’S ADVICE TO UNMARRIED MEN AND WOMEN• JOSE RIZAL POINTS OUT TO UNMARRIED WOMEN THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE EASILY TAKEN BY APPEARANCES AND LOOKS, BECAUSE

THESE CAN BE VERY DECEIVING.  INSTEAD, THEY SHOULD TAKE HEED OF MEN’S FIRMNESS OF CHARACTER AND LOFTY IDEAS.  RIZAL FURTHER ADDS THAT THERE ARE THREE THINGS THAT A YOUNG WOMAN MUST LOOK FOR A MAN SHE INTENDS TO BE HER HUSBAND:

• A NOBLE AND HONORED NAME• A MANLY HEART• A HIGH SPIRIT INCAPABLE OF BEING SATISFIED WITH ENGENDERING SLAVES.

• “TO THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS” CENTERS AROUND FIVE SALIENT POINTS (ZAIDE &ZAIDE, 1999):

• FILIPINO MOTHERS SHOULD TEACH THEIR CHILDREN LOVE OF GOD, COUNTRY AND FELLOWMEN.

• FILIPINO MOTHERS SHOULD BE GLAD AND HONORED, LIKE SPARTAN MOTHERS, TO OFFER THEIR SONS IN DEFENSE OF THEIR COUNTRY.

• FILIPINO WOMEN SHOULD KNOW HOW TO PROTECT THEIR DIGNITY AND HONOR.• FILIPINO WOMEN SHOULD EDUCATE THEMSELVES ASIDE FROM RETAINING THEIR GOOD

RACIAL VALUES.• FAITH IS NOT MERELY RECITING PRAYERS AND WEARING RELIGIOUS PICTURES. IT IS LIVING

THE REAL CHRISTIAN WAY WITH GOOD MORALS AND MANNERS.• IN RECENT TIMES, IT SEEMS THAT THESE QUALITIES ARE GRADUALLY LOST IN THE WAY

FILIPINO WOMEN CONDUCT THEMSELVES.  THERE ARE OFTENTIMES MOMENTS WHERE MOTHERS FORGET THEIR ROLES IN REARING THEIR CHILDREN BECAUSE OF THE OVERRIDING IDEA OF HAVING TO EARN FOR THE FAMILY TO SUPPLEMENT THEIR HUSBAND’S INCOME.  ALTHOUGH THERE IS NOTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT WORKING HARD FOR THE WELFARE OF THE FAMILY, THERE MUST ALWAYS BE BALANCE IN THE WAY PEOPLE GO THROUGH LIFE.  FAILURE IN THE HOME CANNOT BE COMPENSATED FOR BY ANY AMOUNT OF WEALTH OR FAME.

THE ESSAY

• LOVE OF COUNTRY RIZAL WROTE HIS FIRST ESSAY ENTITLED LOVE OF COUNTRY WHEN HE FIRST ARRIVED IN MADRID AT THE AGE OF 21. HE USED THE PSEUDONYM “LAONG LAAN”. IT WAS PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 21,1882 IN DIARIONG TAGALOG A PHILIPPINE NEWS PAPER AND THEN AGAIN ON OCT.31,1890 IN LA SOLIDARIDAD IN MADRIDHIS LOVE FOR THE COUNTRY WAS VERY EVIDENT IN HIS DESIRES TO ALWAYS GO BACK TO HER. EUROPE WAS A LOVABLE, FREE, CULTURED, AND CIVILIZED CONTINENT; YET HE DECIDED TO LEAVE IT, FEELING THAT IT WAS IN HIS OWN LAND WHERE HE WOULD BE MORE USEFUL. HIS FRIENDS AND COMPATRIOTS WERE KEEPING HIM FROM RETURNING, WARNING HIM THAT HIS DESTRUCTION WAS AWAITING HIM THERE. HE DID NOT LISTEN TO THEM BECAUSE THERE WAS THAT STRONG URGE TO BE IN THE PLACE HIS HEART FOUND SATISFYING FOR HIM, BESIDE HIS LOVED ONES

SOBRE LA INDOLENCIA DE LOS FILIPINOSLA SOLIDARIDAD

• SOBRE LA INDOLENCIA DE LOS FILIPINOS ("ON THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINOS" IN SPANISH) IS A SOCIO-POLITICAL ESSAY PUBLISHED IN LA SOLIDARIDAD IN MADRID IN 1890. IT WAS WRITTEN BY JOSÉ RIZAL AS A RESPONSE TO THE ACCUSATION OF INDIO OR MALAY INDOLENCE. HE ADMITS THE EXISTENCE OF INDOLENCE AMONG THE FILIPINOS, BUT IT COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO A NUMBER OF REASONS. HE TRACES ITS CAUSES TO FACTORS SUCH AS THE CLIMATE AND SOCIAL DISORDERS. HE DEFENDS THE FILIPINOS BY SAYING THAT THEY ARE BY NATURE NOT INDOLENT, BECAUSE IN FACT, EVEN BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF SPANIARDS, FILIPINOS HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES SUCH AS AGRICULTURE AND TRADE. INDOLENCE THEREFORE HAS MORE DEEPLY ROOTED CAUSES SUCH AS ABUSE AND DISCRIMINATION, INACTION OF THE GOVERNMENT, RAMPANT CORRUPTION AND RED TAPE, WRONG DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH AND WRONG EXAMPLES FROM SOME SPANIARDS WHO LEAD LIVES OF INDOLENCE WHICH ULTIMATELY LED TO THE DETERIORATION OF FILIPINOS VALUES. IN THE END, RIZAL SUMS UP THE MAIN CAUSES OF INDOLENCE TO THE LIMITED TRAINING AND EDUCATION FILIPINO NATIVES RECEIVE AND TO THE LACK OF NATIONAL SENTIMENT AND UNITY AMONG THEM. EDUCATION AND LIBERTY, ACCORDING TO RIZAL, WOULD BE THE CURE TO FILIPINO INDOLENCE

LA SOLIDARIDAD

• WAS AN ORGANIZATION CREATED IN SPAIN ON DECEMBER 13, 1888. COMPOSED OF FILIPINO LIBERALS EXILED IN 1872 AND STUDENTS ATTENDING EUROPE'S UNIVERSITIES, THE ORGANIZATION AIMED TO INCREASE SPANISH AWARENESS OF THE NEEDS OF ITS COLONY, THE PHILIPPINES, AND TO PROPAGATE A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COLONY AND SPAIN. [1]

• HEADED BY JOSÉ RIZAL'S COUSIN, GALICANO APACIBLE, IT ALSO ISSUED A NEWSPAPER OF THE SAME NAME WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN BARCELONA, SPAIN ON FEBRUARY 15, 1889. IT WAS EDITED BY GRACIANO LÓPEZ JAENA AND LATER ON BY MARCELO H. DEL PILAR.[2] THE NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED NOT ONLY ARTICLES AND ESSAYS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC, CULTURAL, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE COUNTRY, BUT ALSO CURRENT NEWS, BOTH LOCAL AND FOREIGN, AND SPEECHES OF PROMINENT SPANISH LEADERS ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES.

CHAPTER XIIIBASIC IDEAS REGARDING NATION BUILDING

• RIZAL WAS BORN AT THE TIME IN WHICH HIS PEOPLE AND RACE WERE SUBMERGE IN THE THEN-EXISTING WORLD POLITY. THE PHILIPPINES WAS NOT ONLY A COLONY OF SPAIN THEN, THE FILIPINOS WERE ALSO EXPLOITED.TYRANNIZED OVER AND MALTREATED.

• POLITICAL REFORMSPEOPLES AND GOVERNMENT ARE CORRELATED AND COMPLEMENTARY.• EDUCATIONAL REFORMSNOLI ME TANGERE• MORAL PRINCIPLEA FIRM BELIEVER IN GODRIZAL DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO OUR COUNTRY• SOCIOECONOMIC REFORMSWAS RE ORIENT THE CHARACTERS OF FILIPINOS.