In another letter to Dr.

Ferdinand Blumentritt, Rizal described what he expects when the novel will be
in circulation. Finally, he pointed out his primary objective:

to defend Filipino people from foreign accusations of foolishness and lack of knowledge;

to show how the Filipino people lives during Spanish colonial period and the cries and woes
of his countrymen against abusive officials;

to discuss what religion and belief can really do to everyday lives; and
To expose the cruelties, graft, and corruption of the false government at honestly show the
wrongdoings of Filipinos that led to further failure.

Noli Me Tangere is considered to be romantic but more socio-historical because of its nature.
Most of the issues discussed in Noli can be seen today, actually.
After publication, Noli me Tangere was considered to be one of the instruments that initiated
Filipino nationalism that led to 1896 Philippine Revolution. The novel does not only
awakened sleeping Filipino awareness, but also established the grounds for aspiring an
independence. Noli was originally written in Spanish, so the likelihood that Spanish
authorities will read it first is very highwhich, Rizal actually wanted to happen. Copies of
books were redirected to churches, many have been destroyed, many anti-Noli writers came
into the picture, and Catholic leaders in the Philippines that time regarded the book as
heretical, while Spanish colonial authorities declared it as subversive and against the
government. Underground copies were distributed, so Rizal decided to increase the price,
the demand is so high.
Impact also include the expulsion of Rizal's clan in Calamba, Laguna. Extradition cases were
filed against him. This led to his decision to write the sequel of Noli Me Tangere, the El
filibusterismo. Unlike El Fili or Fili, as what they called it, Noli Me Tangere is more delicate
and does not invoke rebellion. El Fili do so. So to ensure revolutionary ideas and outburst
patriotism, Rizal redefined his careful concepts in Noli to aggression in El Fili.
The main point.
Within the plot are episodes and images, which, if they do not improve the unity of
the novel, effectively carry out Rizal's purposes in writing it. The scene in the cockpit
sarcastically portrays the humiliating effects of the passion for gambling. The vivid All
Soul's Day dialogue of the Tertiaries on the gaining of indulgence is an unforgettable
condemnation of fanaticism and superstition. The fiesta sermon of Fray Damaso,
eloquently protests against the vulgar ignorance and hypocritical religious tyranny of
the friars.
In these episodes perhaps, rather than in the novel as a whole, lie the book's power.
The ultimate message is not always clearly spelled out, but the abuses and defects of
the colonial regime are explicitly revealed. The discussions of Elias and Ibarra
disclose possible solutions, and though Rizal is careful not to go for revolution, the
threat is unmistakable if radical reforms are not forthcoming.
Rizal's book persistently unmasks contemporary Spaniards in the Philippines of every
kind. The corruption and brutality of the civil guard drive good men to outlawry
rather than reduce banditry. The administration crawls 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.

The friars 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 them true Catholicism, by controlling the
government, by opposing all progress and by persecuting the Filipino 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 friars and government officials, the ridiculous efforts of
Filipinos to dissociate themselves from their fellowmen or to lord it over them -- all
these are ridiculed in the novel. Nevertheless, Rizal clearly implies that many of
these failings are traceable to association with the Spaniard, or to the misguided
policy of the government and the questionable practices of the friars.
Yet, Rizal balances the national portrait by highlighting the virtues and good qualities
of the unspoiled Filipino: the modesty and devotion of the Filipino woman, the
unstinting hospitality of the Filipino family, the devotion of parents to their children
and children to their parents, the deep sense of gratitude, the solid common sense of
the untutored Filipino peasant.
The Noli is, therefore, not merely an attack on the Spanish colonial regime; it is a
charter of nationalism. It calls on the Filipino to recover his self-confidence, to
appreciate his own worth, to return to the heritage of his ancestors, to assert himself
as the equal of the Spaniard. It insists on the need of education, of dedication to the
country, of absorbing aspects of foreign cultures that would enhance the native
traditions.

Synopsis:
Having completed his studies in Europe, young Juan Crisostomo Ibarra came
back to his motherland. In commemoration of his return after a 7-year
absence, Capitan Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos) threw a get-together
party, which was attended by Fray Damaso, Fray Sibyla, Lieutenant
Guevarra, Doa Victorina, and other such prominent figures. In an unfortunate
incident, Fray Damaso, former curate of San Diego, belittled and slandered the
youngster. Ibarra, in accordance with his educated and peaceful nature, brushed
off the insult and took no offense, instead politely excusing himself and leaving
the party because of an allegedly important task.
Ibarra has a sweetheart by the name of Maria Clara, an extraordinarily beautiful lady.
She is known as the daughter of Capitan Tiyago, an affluent resident of Binundok. The
day after the humbling party, he went to see Maria Clara. Their long-standing love for
each other was clearly manifested in this meeting, and Maria Clara could not help but
reread the letters her sweetheart had written her before he went to Europe. Before
Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevarra (a Guardia Civil), revealed to him the
incidents preceding the death of his father Don Rafael. Don Rafael was a rich haciendero
of the town.
According to the Lieutenant, Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic, in
addition to being a filibuster --- an allegation brought forth by Fray Damaso because of
Don Rafael's non-participation in Confession and Mass rites. Fray Damaso's complaint
against Ibarra's father was made even more outstanding by the occurrence of another

incident. Once Don Rafael saw a tax collector and a student fighting. Out of compassion,
he helped the child. The tax collector was greatly irked and picked a fight with Don
Rafael. Unfortunately, the Spanish tax collector fell, got his head hit against a rock, and
died. The collector's death was blamed on Don Rafael, and he was investigated.
Suddenly, all of those who think ill of him surfaced with additional complaints. He was
imprisoned, and just when the matter was almost settled, he got sick and died in jail.
Still not contented with what he had done, Fray Damaso arranged for Don Rafael's
corpse to be dug up and transferred from the Catholic cemetery to the Chinese
cemetery, because he thought it inappropriate to allow a heretic such as Don Rafael a
Catholic burial ground. Unfortunately, it was raining and because of the bothersome
weight of the cadaver, the one in charge of burying the body decided to throw it in the
river.
Revenge was not in Ibarra's plans; instead he carried through his father's plan of putting
up a school, since he believed that education is a liberating factor.
During the inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in a sabotage
had Elias not saved him. Instead the hired killer was the one who was killed. Because of
this unfortunate incident, Maria Clara got sick but was luckily cured by the medicine
Ibarra sent her.
After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a luncheon during which Fray Damaso again
insulted him. Ibarra ignored the priest's insolence, but when the latter messed with the
dignity of his dead father, he was no longer able to restrain himself and lunged at Fray
Damaso, prepared to stab the latter for his impudence. His beloved Maria Clara stopped
him just in time.
Because of the aforementioned incident, the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church
excommunicated Ibarra. Fray Damaso took this opportunity to persuade the alreadyhesitant parents of Maria Clara to forbid their daughter from marrying Ibarra. The priest
wished the beauteous Maria Clara to marry a Spanish named Linares who just arrived in
the Philippines.
With the help of the Captain General, Ibarra's excommunication was nullified and the
Archbishop decided to accept him as a member of the Roman Catholic Church once
again. But, as fate would have it, some incident of which Ibarra had known nothing
about was blamed on him, and he was wrongly arrested and imprisoned. But the
accusation against him was overruled because during the litigation that followed, nobody
could testify that he was indeed involved in the trouble. Unfortunately, his letter to Maria
Clara had somehow gotten into the hands of the jury and was manipulated such that it
then became evidence against him.
Meanwhile, in Capitan Tiyago's residence, a party was being held to announce the
upcoming wedding that was to take place between Maria Clara and Linares. Ibarra, with
the help of Elias, took this opportunity and escaped from prison. But before leaving,
Ibarra talked to Maria Clara and accused her of betraying him, and act which was done
by giving the letter he wrote her to the jury. Maria Clara explained to Ibarra that she
would never give him away and that the letter which the jury has is not the letter he
wrote her, but instead were a couple of letters written by her mother even before she,

Maria Clara, was born. The letter stated that her mother was raped by Fray Damaso and
that she was therefore not the daughter of Capitan Tiyago, but of Fray Damaso.
Afterwards, Ibarra and Elias boarded a boat and fled the place. Elias instructed Ibarra to
lie down and the former covered the latter with grass so as to conceal the latter's
presence. As luck would have it, they were spotted by their enemies. Elias thought he
would outsmart them and jumped into the water. The men rained shots on the person in
the water, all the while not knowing that they were hitting the wrong person.
It reached Maria Clara's knowledge that Ibarra was killed in a shooting incident, and she
was greatly overcome with grief. Robbed of hope and severely disillusioned, she asked
Fray Damaso to get her into a nunnery. Fray Damaso reluctantly agreed because Maria
Clara explicitly threatened to take her own life if she was not allowed to become a nun.
But what Maria Clara read in the papers was untrue, since Ibarra was not dead; he was
not the one who had taken the shots of the enemies.
It was Christmas Eve when Elias arrived at the Ibarra forest, gravely wounded and
barely alive. It was in this forest that Elias found Basilio and his lifeless mother, Sisa.
Elias died without having seen the triumph of his country.