The Noli Me Tangere can be regarded s a historical novel, as it has mostly fictional characters and historical persons. Rizal's description of the lavish fiesta showed the comic antics at church and the ridiculous expense for one day of festivities.
Noli me tangere literally translated, the Latin words "noli me tangere"means, "touch me not". Taken from John 20:17 when Mary Magdalene holds on to Jesus and he tells her not to touch him. John 20:17 Jesus said to her: "Stop cling to me. For I have not yet ascended to the Father. But be on your way to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and to your Father and to my God and your God.'
Theme as an element of fiction is the idea that runs through the whole novel, repeated again and again in various forms and way. The theme of Noli me Tangere comes from the Gospel of John. The Noli me Tangere is a similar theme of longing and unfulfillment. There is no more tragic love and of course no greater love than the two beings unable to reach each other, since such love eternally remains unblemished. It persistently unmasks contemporary Spaniards in the Philippines of every kind. Rizal exposes corruption and brutality of the civil guards which drive good men to crime and banditry. He focuses on an administration crawling with self-seekers, out to make their fortune at the expense of the Filipinos, so that the few officials who are honest and sincere are unable to overcome the treacherous workings of the system, and their efforts to help the country often end up in frustration or in self-ruin. Noli me TAngere exposé of corrupt friars who have made the Catholic religion an instrument for enriching and perpetuating themselves in power by seeking to mire ignorant Filipinos in fanaticism and superstition. Instead of teaching Filipinos true Catholicism, they control the government by opposing all progress and persecuting members of the ilustrado unless they make themselves their servile flatterers.
Rizal does not, however, spare his fellow countrymen. The superstitious and hypocritical fanaticism of many who consider themselves religious people; the ignorance, corruption, and brutality of the Filipino civil guards; the passion for gambling unchecked by the thought of duty and responsibility; the servility of the wealthy Filipino towards rirs and government officials; the ridiculous efforts of Filipinos to dissociate themselves from their fellowmen or to lord it over them--all these are ridiculed and disclosed.
Rizal nevertheless balances the national portrait by highlighting the virtues and good qualities of his unspoiled countryman: the modesty and devotion of the Filipina, the unstinting hospitality of the Filipino family, the devotion of parents to their children and children to their parents, the deep sense of gratitude, and the solid common sense of untutored peasant. Iy calls on the Filipino to recover his self-confidence, to appreciate his own worth, to return to the heritage of his ancestors, and to assert himself as the equal of the Spaniard. It insists on the need of education, of dedication to the country, and of absorbing aspects of foreign cultures that would enhance the native traditions.
Rizal creates other memorable characters whose lives manifest the poisonous effects of religious and colonial oppression. Capitan Tiago; the social climber Doña Victorina Espadaña and her toothless Spanish husband., the Guardia Civil head and his harridan wife; the sorority of devout women; the disaffected peasants forced to become outlaws; in sum, a microcosm of Philippine society. In the afflictions that plague them, Rizl paints a harrowing picture of his beloved but suffering country in a work that speaks eloquently not just to Filipinos but to all who have endured or witnessed oppression.
By: Smile Granada
Noli me tangere literally translated, the Latin words "noli me tangere"means, "touch me not". Taken from John 20:17 when Mary Magdalene holds on to Jesus and he tells her not to touch him. John 20:17 Jesus said to her: "Stop cling to me. For I have not yet ascended to the Father. But be on your way to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and to your Father and to my God and your God.'
Theme as an element of fiction is the idea that runs through the whole novel, repeated again and again in various forms and way. The theme of Noli me Tangere comes from the Gospel of John. The Noli me Tangere is a similar theme of longing and unfulfillment. There is no more tragic love and of course no greater love than the two beings unable to reach each other, since such love eternally remains unblemished. It persistently unmasks contemporary Spaniards in the Philippines of every kind. Rizal exposes corruption and brutality of the civil guards which drive good men to crime and banditry. He focuses on an administration crawling with self-seekers, out to make their fortune at the expense of the Filipinos, so that the few officials who are honest and sincere are unable to overcome the treacherous workings of the system, and their efforts to help the country often end up in frustration or in self-ruin. Noli me TAngere exposé of corrupt friars who have made the Catholic religion an instrument for enriching and perpetuating themselves in power by seeking to mire ignorant Filipinos in fanaticism and superstition. Instead of teaching Filipinos true Catholicism, they control the government by opposing all progress and persecuting members of the ilustrado unless they make themselves their servile flatterers.
Rizal does not, however, spare his fellow countrymen. The superstitious and hypocritical fanaticism of many who consider themselves religious people; the ignorance, corruption, and brutality of the Filipino civil guards; the passion for gambling unchecked by the thought of duty and responsibility; the servility of the wealthy Filipino towards rirs and government officials; the ridiculous efforts of Filipinos to dissociate themselves from their fellowmen or to lord it over them--all these are ridiculed and disclosed.
Rizal nevertheless balances the national portrait by highlighting the virtues and good qualities of his unspoiled countryman: the modesty and devotion of the Filipina, the unstinting hospitality of the Filipino family, the devotion of parents to their children and children to their parents, the deep sense of gratitude, and the solid common sense of untutored peasant. Iy calls on the Filipino to recover his self-confidence, to appreciate his own worth, to return to the heritage of his ancestors, and to assert himself as the equal of the Spaniard. It insists on the need of education, of dedication to the country, and of absorbing aspects of foreign cultures that would enhance the native traditions.
Rizal creates other memorable characters whose lives manifest the poisonous effects of religious and colonial oppression. Capitan Tiago; the social climber Doña Victorina Espadaña and her toothless Spanish husband., the Guardia Civil head and his harridan wife; the sorority of devout women; the disaffected peasants forced to become outlaws; in sum, a microcosm of Philippine society. In the afflictions that plague them, Rizl paints a harrowing picture of his beloved but suffering country in a work that speaks eloquently not just to Filipinos but to all who have endured or witnessed oppression.
By: Smile Granada