UNIT IV.

LITERARY MASTERPIECES OF JOSE

RIZAL
 The most significant literary masterpieces of Dr.
Jose Rizal reflecting the lives of Filipinos under
the Spanish colonization.
 Rizal wrote mostly in Spanish, the lingua franca
of the Spanish East Indies, though some of his
letters were written in Tagalog.
 His works have been translated into several
languages, including Tagalog and English.
 Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit, you will be able to:

1. appreciate Rizal’s use of history to arouse nationalism;
2. appraise important characters in the novels (Noli and El
Fili) and what they represent;
3. compare and contrast the characters, plot, and theme of
Noli and El Fili;
4. assess Rizal’s writings; and
5. appraise the value of understanding the past.
 Setting Up
 Have you experienced writing a literary piece?
What would be the topic of your literary piece if
you were given a chance to write one?
 As we all know, Dr. Jose Rizal published great
literary pieces. Think and choose one of his
pieces, and outline its content briefly, according
to what you have remembered.
 JOSE RIZAL'S ANNOTATION OF MORGA'S
SUCESOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS
 Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas or “The Events in the
Philippine Islands" was written and published by
Antonio de Morga in Mexico in 1609.
 It is one of the most vital records detailing the
history of the Spanish colonization in the Philippines.
 It talks about the history of wars, intrigues,
diplomacy, and evangelization of the Philippine
island.
 Antonio de Morga
 Antonio de Morga was a Spanish soldier, a lawyer who has a
doctorate in canon law and civil law, and a high-ranking
colonial official for 43 years. He was also a historian.
 He was the first person to write formal documentation of
the Spanish colonization.
 Morga was personally involved in the conquest and had
firsthand encounters with most of the accounts he cited. His
purpose for writing Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas is to
document the Spanish kingdom's achievements in the
conquest and conversion of the islands of Filipinas or the
Philippines.
 Dr. Jose Rizal annotated this document with a
prologue by his friend — Dr. Ferdinand
Blumentritt, an Austrian teacher and an author
of the book in the Philippines' ethnography.
 Keyword: Annotation – a note added by way of
comment or explanation
 Antonio de Morga’s Version

Morga's book was written in Spanish and reflected his bias

over Spanish superiority.
Found in the book were the knowledge, documentations, keen
observations, and direct involvement of events during the
Spanish colonization in the Philippines from 1493 to 1603.
It contains various information about the political, social, and
economic aspects of the Philippines and Spain.
This document considered as valuable as Morga had access to
the survivors of the colony, and he, himself, participated in
many of the accounts he rendered.
 Morga’s purpose for writing Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas
Morga wrote and quoted that the purpose for
writing Sucesos was so he could chronicle "the
deeds achieved by the Spaniards within the
discovery, conquest, and change of the Filipinas
island as well as different fortunes that they have
from time to time within the incredible kingdoms
and among the individuals encompassing the
island."
Rizal claimed and argued that the conversion and
conquest were not as widespread as portrayed
because the missionaries were only successful in
conquering a portion of the islands' population.
 What leads Jose Rizal to Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas?
Jose Rizal was an earnest seeker of the truth, and this
marked him as a historian.
He had a desire to know the Philippines' conditions
when the Spaniards came to the island.
He believed that the country was economically self-
sufficient, prosperous, lively, and had an active
community until the Spaniards came and
contributed to the decline of the country's rich
culture and tradition.
He, at that point, chosen to embrace the comment
of Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.

His fellowship with Ferdinand Blumentritt

propelled doing an unused version of the record.

Committing four months of investigation and

composing for nearly a year to induce his
composition distributed in Paris in January 1890.