The Three Faces of Evil in El

Filibusterismo

An Agrarian Tragedy and The

Eviction from Calamba
Jeffrey King Garcia

Telesforo or Cabesang Tales

Son of Tandang Selo.

Father of two sons and two daughters.
Silent type.
Once an employee of some capitalist but decided to
go on his own after earning some money and owned
two Carabaos.
With the help of his father, wife and two kids
pagkakaingin is their means of livelihood and the
cause of death of his eldest daughter and wife.
One plentiful harvest forced the friar to claim the
land.
Because of the influence of the friars, Tales agreed to
an annual payment.

After a few years they earned enough money

to build a house in a village.
Because he has the best house in the village,
he is appointed to be the cabeza the barangay
(an honorable title with the obligation to
collect taxes).
The friars raised the canon to 500 pesos and
Tales refuses to pay.
The matter is brought to the court, they issue
a verdict in favor of the friars.
Tales refuse to accept the verdict. He resumes
patrolling his land with a gun.

He was kidnapped by the bandits and

demanded 500 pesos ransom.
Cabesang Tales, freed, is a changed man.
Joined the bandits.

The Eviction from Calamba

Take heart, men of Kalamba! Your name is not Tales.

You have committed no crime.
Mentioned the heads of families evicted by friars from
their homes, and some of them deported. Among the
names is that of Rizals brother Paciano.
After the eviction Rizals family sought refuge in Hong
Kong. Rizal left Europe to join them there. But the fate of
the 300 or so others who were now homeless weighed
on his mind.
He brought the evicted farmers in North Borneo (British
Colony that time)
Rizal then wrote to the Spanish Government and
Captain-General in Manila, asking permission for the
families evicted from Calamba to leave the country.

Receiving no reply, Rizal decided to go in person to

Manila to see the Governor.
Shortly after his arrival he was imprisoned in Fort
Santiago and departed to Dapitan.
He found a large track of land in Dapitan where the
evicted farmers could resettle. And then the SpanishAmerican war and the Philippine Revolution
intervened.
Rizals interest in the evils of the agrarian system
was not merely academic nor merely that of a writer
of fiction. It was dictated by acute anguish over a
situation that involved his family and townspeople

Simoun
Jim Adrian Francinilla

Who was Simoun?

Juan Crisostomo Ibarras alter-ego

Supposed to be a hero
Events that transpired after Noli made him a
villain

Not the main villain, but a villain nonetheless

There were other villains, and were generally much
worse

Who was Simoun?

Simoun was the exact opposite of other

villains

Most villains in the novel aimed for preservation of

power
On the other hand, Simoun wanted to free his
people from oppression, with whatever means
necessary

No regard for anyone elses safety, as long as goals are

achieved

Who was Simoun?

Simoun was the exemplar of the amoral

politician

Ruthless
The only thing that matters is a things usefulness
for achieving an end goal

Murder, massacre, injustice, violation of human rights

are justifiable

Who was Simoun?

Simoun is the consummate Machiavellian

Multiple questions were asked, and the
answer was always no.

Will Spain ever grant them (the Filipinos) freedom?

Will the people entrenched in power in the islands
ever grant the needed reforms?

Thus, the only solution was armed revolt

Revolution

How does one bring about the spirit of

revolution in Filipinos?

Filipinos have extreme patience and will put up

with almost anything
It is necessary to force the people into an armed
revolution

Revolution

How Simoun sparked the revolution:

Increase tyranny

Increase the pressure on the people

Incite tyrants to commit greater injustice and atrocities

Increase their burdens

If successful, people will explode into

uncontrollable acts of vengeance

Rizal as Simoun

Rizals portrayal of himself changed

Ibarra was both idealistic and altruistic in Noli

Simoun was a figure of evil

Implication / Message of the change:

Evil can be found anywhere, friend or foe

Whoever succumbs to evil must not only be branded an

evil person but must take responsibility for the
consequences of the villainy

Influence

Simouns portrayal was influenced by Rizals

early readings of novels such as The Count of
Monte Cristo

Simoun initially appears as a sinister, enigmatic

figure.
Throughout the course of the novel, Simouns
identity and objectives are slowly revealed

Disclosure to Basilio
Axel Josol

Basilio

As describe by Rizal, Basilio is a poor boy

who was able to complete a medical course
but only lacks the final approval for his
licentiate.
Grave injustice has destroyed his mother
and his family as well as the love of his life,
Juli and her family.
Basilios only ambition is to become a
doctor to help the poor and the sick

Simoun

Game Changer

Simoun and friends first lure Basilio into

political action but Basilio was clear about his
drive of helping and being a doctor.
Basilio was imprisoned for more than 3
months
After he was freed Basilio decided to go to
Simoun and so Simouns plan of having Basilio
in his plans was followed.

Such bloody sophisms, uttered by Simoun with conviction, numbed

the young man. His mind, weakened by more than three months in
prison and blinded by a desire for revenge, was in no position to
examine the morality of what was being proposed. Instead of replying
that every person, even the most evil, is something more than a
vegetable because he has a soul and an intelligence that, no matter
how vitiated or brutalized, can still be redeemed; instead of replying
that no one has the right to dispose of the life of another for the
aggrandizement of anyone; that each individual has the right to life
and liberty and the truth, instead of replying that, if it is wrong for the
government to punish people for the crimes brought about by the
governments own injustice, so much more it is wrong for an individual
to punish a people for the wrongs committed by the government;
instead of saying that God alone, who has the power to create and who
holds in his hand the destiny of all, has also the power to destroyinstead of these reasonings, all Basilio could do was to ask the trivial
question: What will the world say to such carvanage?

The Priests Verdict

Filbert Go

Simoun
Was

wounded by the authorities

Took refuge in Padre Florentinos house by

the sea

Padre Florentino

Gave his room to the injured Simoun

Showed himself the genuine ministry of Gods
Mercy but did not forgive Simouns actions

The Good Man

All is not evil in Rizals novel

Arlene Adrianne Go

The Good People

Some are flawed

Others are destroyed by evil people/institution
Some remain good throughout

The unnamed Spanish high official (el

alto empleado)

Protested against tyrannical acts of the

Governor and Captain General
It is a dishonor to Spain to commit injustice
against her colonial subjects
When his protests remain unheeded, he
resigns and leaves the country

(cont.)The unnamed Spanish high official

Honorable official
not corrupted by power
Not intimidated by tyranny
Maintained dignity, sense of justice and honor

Father Fernandez

Dominican Friar
Chapter 27(Ang Prayle at ang Estudyante)
He desires good of the people but his
intentions are helpless against the system

Padre Florentino

Secular Filipino priest

Uncle of Isagani
The one Simoun confessed to before he died