SHORT BACKGROUND OF RIZAL
The Philippines was once a country that was mocked and oppressed by the stronger. For almost 333 years the Philippines was ruled by the Spanish. There was a great man, a physician and novelist, who served as an inspiration to the Philippine independence movement. Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was his given name. He was born in Calamba Philippines on June 19, 1861, and died in Manila on December 30, 1896. Following the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, which was inspired by his literary works, he was executed by the Spanish colonial authorities for the crime of mutiny. Though he was not physically actively involved in its preparation or operation, he eventually agreed with its objectives, which led to Philippine independence.
Jose Rizal was born into an upper-class family in Calamba, Laguna. The 13-member family includes his father, Fransisco Mercado II; his mother, Teodora Alonso Realonda; himself; nine sisters, and on brother. How did he come up with the surname Rizal? His father, Fransisco Mercado, took Rizal surname when a provincial governor proposed it to him after the Governor General of the Philippines, Narciso Claveria, issued an order in 1849 requiring native Filipino and immigrant families t acquire Spanish surnames from a list o Spanish family names.
Education of Rizal
Rizal even in his childhood was considered as a prodigy due to his stellar performance in academics. At the age of seven, he was able to write a komedya for a local fiesta and wrote his poem “Para Aking Mga Kabata” the next year. His first teacher was his mother who taught him European lit, music, arts, and poetry. However, in his formal education, his first teacher was Maestro Cruz where he first experienced corporal punishment when he attended a private school for gifted children in Binan. When he left Laguna for Manila, he attended Ateneo Municipal from 1872 to 1877 where he finished a degree of bachelor of arts with highest honor. His first professor in Ateneo was Fr. Jose Bech, and during his time at the academy he won several awards and was regarded as sobresaliente. In 1877, he entered the University of Sto. Tomas where he studied Philosophy and Letters. The following year he switched from Philosophy to medicine due to his mother’s worsening eyesight. He also studied Surveying in Ateneo while studying Medicine and finished the course in one year but was deprived of title because of his minor age. With the financial help of his brother, Paciano, he went to Spain to continue his studies in Medicine in 1882. He enrolled in Universal Central de Madrid studying two degrees, Medicine and Philosophy and Letters. He passed both degrees in 1885 but was not granted his Doctor’s Diploma due to his unpaid dues and unsubmitted thesis. In 1885, right after finishing his studies in Spain, he went to Paris to practice and specialize in ophthalmology with a goal of being an excellent ophthalmologist to treat his mother’s worsening eyesight. During his stay in Germany in 1886, he worked at the University Eye Hospital under the supervision of a known German ophthalmologist, Dr. Otto Becker. In the same year, he attended lectures at the University of Leipzig. And in 1887, he finally completed his specialization in ophthalmology at the same university.
Novels of Rizal
Due to his undying love for his country, he used his intelligence in literature to encourage his countrymen to open their eyes to the injustices that the Spanish government and clergy are doing to the Philippines. During Rizal’s stay in Germany, he published his first novel Noli Me Tangere in 1887. This novel is about nationalism that all Filipinos should possess in order to free the country from the Spanish colonizers that are spoiling the country. He started writing this novel during his stay in Madrid as he was inspired by a novel about the abuse of black slaves in America titled “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe. He wanted to collaborate with his friends in writing the novel but due to their different ideas about the novel, he wrote this alone. He finished writing Noli Me Tangere in Berlin, Germany. Vicente Blasco Ibanez helped him in proofreading and Maximo Viola financed the publication of the book on March 29, 1887.
El Filibusterismo, on the other hand, was published in Ghent, Belgium in 1891 as a sequel to his first novel “Noli Me Tangere.” Unlike the first novel, El Filibusterismo was darker and tackles a more gruesome injustices that is happening in the Philippines during that time. He wrote this novel to spark a sense of revolution as he made his readers feel hatred, bitterness and antipathy against the suppressors or the Spaniards. He first started writing this novel in Calamba, Laguna in 1887, he continued writing in London and finally finished writing it in Biarritz, France in 1891. At first, Rizal funded all his publications but due to lack of financial resources he stopped. Fortunately, Valentin Ventura helped in financing the publication of El Filibusterismo.
Travels of Rizal
NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL FILIBUSTERISMO
The article "El Filibusterismo and Jose Rizal as 'Science Fictionist," published in the July-December 2013 issue of Humanities Diliman. It demonstrates that, unlike many Western science fictionists of the time. Jose Rizal did not agree with the "science conquers all" theme.
In the El Filibusterismo, he demonstrated that scientific thinking was not widespread among his countrymen. As a result, any force fighting against their oppressive colonizers could not ight solely under the banner of science - it would have to include those who believe Bernardo Carpio is the Tagalog's savior or who are devout Catholics above all else, among others. Despite the fact that he could have, Rizal did not turn the novel into a fantasy about the scientifically superior beating the scientifically inferior. After all, even with his high-tech weapons, the main character, the vengeful Simoun, never succeeded in launching a revolution against the Spaniards. Instead, Rizal can be said to have written a novel in which nationalist with cutting-edge inventions must learn to collaborate with nationalists who are less fond of science in order to defeat an enemy who regards all of them as inferior
During Rizal's time, science fiction elements in any written literature were very uncommon. However, the novel featured technologies like the time bomb within the lamp which was used by Simoun to signal the start of revolution. The idea of science fiction revolves around technology that is technically possible but not at the current time. The invention and utilization of time bombs in real life came way after the writing of El Filibusterismo. This means that technically, Rizal is a science fictionist as he utilizes the elements of science fiction in his novel.
MONUMENTS OF RIZAL
In Singapore:
In Hongkong
In Japan:
In Madrid, Spain:
In Philippines:
REFERENCES
Pictures:
Information:
Jose Rizal Online. Jose Rizal. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://rizal.raphaelmarco.com/biography/education
José Rizal Life timeline. Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://biography.yourdictionary.com/answers/biography/jose-rizal-life-timeline.html
"Noli me tangere": Jose Rizal Philippines history novel. Cambridge Forecast Group Blog. (2009, October 16). Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://cambridgeforecast.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/noli-me-tangere-jose-rizal-phillipines-novel/
The el filibusterismo. OurHappySchool. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://ourhappyschool.com/journalism/el-filibusterismo
15 Nov the travels of Rizal. Filipinas Heritage Library | The Travels of Rizal. (1970, November 15). Retrieved June 16, 2022, from https://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/articles/the-travels-of-rizal/GROUP 1 MEMBERS
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| APO, Anne Marie Kaye |
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| ESCASINAS, Junnavi |
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| RIVERA, Joshua |
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| SISON, Maria Victoria |
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| TAGUBA, Anthoneth |
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