Book Report and Book Analysis

El Filibusterismo (Chapter 1-3)

Book Report
About The Book

El Filibusterismo, or The Reign of Terror (English alternative

title), is the second novel written by the Philippine national
hero Jose Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli me Tangere (Touch
me not) and was first published in 1891.
Chapter One (On The Upper Deck)

The first chapter of the novel starts with introducing the

steamer Bapor Tabo, which is cruising down the River Pasig
on its way to La Laguna, on a December morning. It is filled
with many passengers: the upper class on the upper deck and
the lower class on the lower deck, along with merchandise
and boxes. It then continues to introduce the characters of the
story, starting with Doña Victorina, who is the only woman
seated in the European group in the upper class. She is being
accompanied by her neice, Paulita Gomez. Also in the upper
deck is Ben Zayb, a journalist, who is having a heated
discussion with Padre Camorra, a young friar, about the San
Mateo River, fish-corrals, Indians, and so on. Listening in on
their conversation was Padre Salvi, who was an old and thin
Franciscan friar, Padre Subyla, who was a handsome
Dominican, and some others. Padre Salvi decided to
intervene and stop the argument. After a few words were
exchanged, Don Simoun, who is a jeweller from the US joins
in on the conversation, proposing a solution to their
argument. Don Custodia, an official counselor, and Padre
Sibyla disagreed with his proposition, stating that it might
pursue an uprising. Don Simoun just laughs at they’re
worries.

Chapter Two (On The Lower Deck)

The second chapter focuses on the situation in the lower

deck. Unlike the well ventilated upper deck, the conditions
below were far from comfortable. There are two characters
that are focused on in this chapter: Basilio, a student in
medicine, and Isagani, a poet from the Ateneo. The both of
them are having a conversation with Kapitan Basilio about
how they want to establish a Spanish academy. While
Kapitan Basilio is convinced that such a school will never be
set-up, Isagani is planning on getting a permit for it with the
help of Padre Irene. Padre Sibyla is against this, which is why
Padre Irene is on his way to speak with the Governor-
General. To support the funding of the school, every student
was asked to contribute 15 centavos. The teachers, consisting
of half Filipinos and half Spanish from Spain, even offered to
help. The conversation suddenly turns into the topic of
relationships, which then results in Isagani revealing that he
is in love with Paulita Gomez but his uncle, Father
Florentino, is against it. Looking for Capitan Basilio, Don
Simoun comes down from the upper deck. Once he found
him, Kapitan Basilio introduces Isagani to Don Simoun.
Isagani takes offence when Don Simoun talks about the
poverty in Kapitan Basilio’s province and then continues to
have an argument with him about water and beer. After Don
Simoun leaves, Don Basilio scolds Isagani for treating the
jeweller that way. They are interrupted by a servant saying
that Isagani is being summoned by his uncle. Father
Florentino talks about how he lost the woman he loved
because he became a priest. The captain of the steamer sees
the priest and asks him to go to the upper deck, or else the
friars might think that he did not want to mingle with them.
Father Florentino instructs Isagani to stay in the lower deck,
because going to the upper deck would almost be abusing the
captain’s hospitality. Isagani takes this as his uncle’s way of
making sure he doesn’t speak with Doña Victorina.

Chapter Three (Legends)

In chapter 3, Father Florentino joins the guests in the upper

deck. The friars are complaining about the social awareness
of Filipinos and discussing about the investigation on the
finances of the church. Don Simoun arrives and is told by
Don Custodio how regrettable it is that he missed the
beautiful sceneries that they had passed. Simoun the replies
that sceneries are useless, unless they have legends associated
with them. The captain joins in on the conversation, telling a
story about the Legend of Doña Jeromina. Ben Zayb likes the
story, stating that he will write an article about it, and Doña
Victorina gets jealous, for she had also wanted to live in a
cave. Don Simoun asks Padre Salvi if it would’t have been
better if the woman had been placed in a nunnery instead of a
cave, for that is how the story goes. The friar explains that he
cannot judge the actions of the man in the story. To change
the topic, he starts to talk about the legend of St. Nicholas,
who saved a Chinese from a crocodile, which ended in the
crocodile turning into stone when the Chinese prayed to the
saint. When the boat reached the lake, Ben Zayb asks the
captain where in the lake a certain Guevarra, Navarra, or
Ibarra was killed. Annoyed, the captain points towards the
spot. Doña Victorina peers into the water, looking for any
traces of the killing, even though it had already been 13 years
since the event. Padre Sibyla adds that the father is now with
the corpse of his son, to which Ben Zayb replies that it was
the cheapest burial. People laugh, while Don Simoun pales
and stays quiet. The captain thinks he’s just seasick.

Book Analysis
It is stated that the friars are in the upper deck, symbolising
the church’s power during that time. It is also stated that the
Europeans, too, were in the upper deck, symbolising how the
Europeans, or foreigners in general, were seen as a higher
power and still are seen as such. Also, the upper class was in
the upper deck while the lower class was in the lower deck.
This symbolises the difference between what is given to the
higher class compared to the lower class. The character of
Doña Victorina symbolises the willingness of us Filipinos to
give up our own culture to be more foreign, European and
American in specifics. She wishes for the Indios to disappear
completely even though she herself in an Indio, no matter
how much makeup she applies on herself.

Bibliography
-Rizal, Jose. 1891. On the Upper Deck, El Filibusterismo

Retrieved from: https://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/el-

filibusterismo-the-reign-of-greed-by-dr-jose-rizal-a-complete-
english-version-chapter-1-on-the-upper-deck-english-version-of-el-
filibusterismo_797.html

-Rizal, Jose. 1891. On the Lower Deck, El Filibusterismo

Retrieved from: https://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/el-
filibusterismo-the-reign-of-greed-by-dr-jose-rizal-a-complete-
english-version-chapter-2-on-the-lower-deck-english-version-of-el-
filibusterismo_798.html

-Rizal, Jose. 1891. Legends, El Filibusterismo

Retrieved from: https://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/el-
filibusterismo-the-reign-of-greed-by-dr-jose-rizal-a-complete-
english-version-chapter-3-legends-english-version-of-el-
filibusterismo_799.html

-Tan, Marie. Chapter Summary and Analysis of El

Filibusterismo.
Retrieved from:
https://www.scribd.com/document/315389061/Chapter-Summary-
and-Analysis-of-El-Filibusterismo