El Filibusterismo

Also known by its alternative English title The Reign of Greed is the second novel written
by Philippine national hero Jose 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. The greatest contribution
of Jose Protacio Rizal E Realonda was when he wrote his two greatest works El Filibusterismo
and Nole Me Tangere to wake the sleeping or the ignorance of Filipinos in abuses of Spanish and
to fight against friars. He is the greatest Filipino hero because he was a doctor, an artist, a poet a
novelist and more. His two novels inspired the movement which eventually gathered his fellow
men to rise up and put into action their long desire led from to be free from shackles of Spanish
conquest, tyranny and enslavement. He was the hero to other Filipino heroes. Rizal's masterpiece
El Filibusterismo, the message of the novel is clear the present system of governing the
Philippines through corrupt and self-seeking officials, dominated by the friars and being
submissive to their interest in one fashion or another, can only lead to disaster for Spain.

The novel centers on the Noli-El fili duology's main character Crisóstomo Ibarra, now returning
for vengeance as "Simoun". The novel's dark theme departs dramatically from the previous
novel's hopeful and romantic atmosphere, signifying Ibarra's resort to solving his country's issues
through violent means, after his previous attempt in reforming the country's system made no
effect and seemed impossible with the corrupt attitude of the Spaniards toward the Filipinos.

The author Of this novel is Jose Rizal the national hero of the Philippines. He wrote this in a
Spanish genre novel/fiction, the publisher of this is F.Meyer van Loo Press in Ghent Belgium.
The publication date 1891; media type Print (Hardback and paperback) preceded by Noli Me
Tangere and followed by Makamisa.

I believe that his greatest legacies were to novels entitled “Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo”. Through these writings, he inspired Filipinos to fight for our independence, to
gain freedom especially from the Spaniards because of the atrocities and slavery committed to
them. Jose Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896 by the Spanish colonial government. Rizal
is different from other Filipino heroes because Jose Rizal, in the annals of heroism, an anomaly.
He was a man of science, a scholar and a writer and to many young Filipinos is idealized as a
model son and something of a ladies man. Unlike other national heroes, he did not bear arms or
lead an army. Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo famously depicts the difficulties faced by the
adherents of scientific thought in the Philippines during late 19 century. It argues that in El
Filibusterismo these complex are somewhat helpful but at the same time dismiss able as
irrelevant in the context.

Summary:

Crisostomo Ibarra is back as Simoun. During the period in between the story line of Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo which is 13 years, Ibarra left the Philippines and became a
wealthy jeweler. He came back to the Philippines as Senior Simoun, disguised with a beard. He
seems to have long abandoned his once vision of ending the despotism of Spain with words and
peace. He become hunger for vengeance for all the misfortune our country has suffered under the
tyranny of the Spaniards. And near the end of the novel, when he discovered that his lover, Maria
Clara, died in the convent, he becomes all the more furious. Simoun is a confidant of the
Captian-General. He encourages the government to make bad decisions and to abuse their power
so that it would spark’s revolution among the masses.

Basilio, now all grown up, is at first reluctant to join in on Simoun’s idea but end up being part
of the plan.

Simoun started planning uprising and stashed guns in the shop of an ally. At the wedding
reception of newlyweds (the bride being the ex-girlfriend of one of his friends of Basilio-
Isagani), Simoun tells Basilio that his plan was to conceal an explosive which contains
nitroglycerin inside a pomegranate-style kerosene lamp that Simoun will give to the newlyweds
as a gift during the wedding reception. The reception will take place at the former home of the
Captain Tiago, which was now filled with explosives planted by Simoun. According to Simoun,
the lamp will stay lighted for 20 minutes before it flickers, if someone attempts to turn the wick,
it will explode and kill everyone-important members of civil society and the Church hierarchy
inside the house. Simoun leaves the reception early and leaves a note with the words: “Mene
Thecel Phares" which means “the future I’d predetermined” and is generally implied that a bad
event is ongoing to happen. Simoun signed it with his real name “Juan Crisistomo Ibarra". The
people at the reception were shocked because Ibarra is supposedly dead. One of the priest who
knew Ibarra before the ending of Noli Me Tangere confirmed to the people that it was the
writing of Ibarra. The lamp started to dim… Outside the house, Basilio was about to walk away
because he knew the lamp was going to explode anytime soon when he saw Isagani, the still
heart broken ex-boyfriend of the bride whose reception was still on going in the house of Captain
Tiago. Isagani said that he just wanted to congratulate the newly-weds. Basilio who then feared
for the safety of his friend told him about the plan of Simoun. Isagani ran to the house. A priest
was about to fix the lamp but once Isagani got in, he found the lamp and threw it out the window
into the river outside the residence. Since the guards were chasing Isagani, he himself jumped
out of the window into river as well. There was an uprising planned by Simoun during the time
of the reception. The band got caught and confessed that Simoun lead them. Ibarra was now
wanted both as himself and as Simoun. Days passed and a good priest found. Simoun walking
along the shore, wounded and weak. The noble priest tended to Simoun while the latter
explained that he is Ibarra and that he was greatly saddened and angry due to the failure of the
revolution and that he was questioning God as to why he was the one who is suffering and not
the ones who have forsaken the people of the Philippines. The priest explains that all
punishments will come in due time. Ibarra died as he weakly held the hand of the priest. The
latter blessed the former and threw away all the remaining jewels of Ibarra in the hopes that they
may always be used for good.
Indeed, the Fili shows how Rizal was considerably talented at imagining grounded-in-reality
frights. Simoun agrees that science or rather scientism, seems to be an ideal dominant ideology;
both he and Basilio would likely agree that is can invalidate any socially constructed
differentiation of humans through the scientific method. However, Simoun believes that there are
necessary conditions to bring about the nationless word-state the Basilio envision violent revolt,
fueled by love of country. Must first happen in countries victimized by oppressors nations; many
must die on the stakes so as the horrify the conscience of society to grant freedom to the
conscience of the individual (Lacson-locsin 55-56; chapter 7). Simoun is thus saying that
nationalism can lead to transformatic anarchy that the only way for the younger man to achieve
his aims is to become on of Simoun’s men. Basilio initially declines Simoun's offer. Basilio
eventually agrees to become one of Simoun’s lieutenants, another recruit in the anarchist of
intellectuals, joining the ranks of the teacher-pyrotechist and Mr. Leeds. Basilio’s time behind
bars, the death of Juli and the failure of his efforts to make the colonial masters realize that their
slaves must be liberated, have made him lust for the same chaos that Simoun ardently desires.
Simoun assigned Basilio to lead a revolt by bandits-headed by Matanglawin-as soon as the bomb
explodes.

With advanced armaments an army of disgruntled bandits and reserves of intellectual resources,
could Simoun’s nefarious campaigns fail?

As the novel shows, of course they can. In this first attempt to launch a revolt (without Basilio's
willing assistance). Simoun effectively calls the action off after he learns that Maria Clara is
dead; the news plunges him into inactivity. His bomb plot also fails because of a fortuitous event.
The event which Simoun seeks to abruptly conclude with mass murder is the celebration of a
wedding. A university students who shares Basilio’s belief (through he is more willing to
directly engage authorities to achieve his desires as can be seen in chapter 27, “The Friar and the
Filipino”). Isagani later learns about the revolt he hated causing him to regret his rashness. In
short, the failures, of Simoun's schemes are attributable to men's desires to be with or protect
their beloved.

Rizal's desire to use El Filibusterismo to present the various sectors and aspects of the society of
his time more than to weave a coherent fictional narrative reflecting the society of his time
makes his novel suffer. As a reader I feel like I’m reading isolated short stories about people
from different walks of life instead of one coherent fictional narrative. The titles of the chapter
are inspired because they contain nonsense of mystery. For me, “The Merry Christmas” chapter
is interesting because it is ironic. The chapter actually talks not about a happy Christmas but a
sad one.

Therefore, I conclude that El Filibusterismo also shares the theme that “violence is not the
answer" with Noli Me Tangere. When he asked father Florentino about this, the friar answered
with, “Perhaps he [God] saw there was no justice in the way you wanted it done. The enduring
greatness of Rizal lies in the richness of his ideas and the nobility of his examples. The validity
and teaching is his legacy to humanity. The applicability of his deathless example is his heritage
of his people. The main point of El Filibusterismo was written in dedication to the three martyred
priest Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora whose deaths left an indelible mark in
his mind. Like Noli Me Tangere, Fili aims at enlightening the society at bringing the Filipinos
closer to the truth.

In terms of moral lessons, El Filibusterismo is what I’d choose over Noli MeTangere. El
Filibusterismo showed us how anger and vengeance can take over a person being. Both of Rizal's
novel had a profound effect on Philippines society in terms of views about national identity, the
catholic faith and its influence on the Filipinos choice and the government’s issue in corruption
and on a larger scale.