Reaction Paper of Group I

About

The Childhood of Jose Rizal

The childhood of Jose Rizal can be characterized by his desire to learn, even

frequenting the church nearby his home to watch and observe people but not to

be religiously inclined.

JOSE PROTASIO RIZAL MERCADO Y ALONZO REALONDA, the seventh child of

Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and his wife, Teodora Morales Alonzo

Realonda y Quintos, was born in Kalamba, June 19, 1861.

He was a typical Filipino, for few persons in this land of mixed blood could boast a

greater mixture than his. Practically all the ethnic elements, perhaps even the Negrito in

the far past, combined in his blood. All his ancestors, except the doubtful strain of the

Negrito, had been immigrants to the Philippines, early Malays, and later Sumatrans,

Chinese of prehistoric times and the refugees from the Tartar dominion, and Spaniards of

old Castile and Valencia-representatives of all the various peoples who have blended to

make the strength of the Philippine race.

 Jose Rizal was not a physically blessed or strong. However, he had a strong will

guided and taught by his mother, his first teacher. He learned almost without the use of

books. His mother was the one who laid the foundation of his great knowledge achieved in

such a short time. His brilliance was also the character of the young Jose Rizal.

Jose Rizal learned his letters at the age of three, after insisting that he be taught to

read and share the lessons learned by his elder sister. Rizal even tried to spell out the words

of his sister’s story book with the use of a syllabary in such a way that one does when using

a dictionary in a foreign language. He also spent much of this time in a church nearby his

house just watching or observing the people coming in and out.

Three uncles who were brothers of his mother also had much influence on the early

childhood of Jose Rizal. The youngest uncle named Jose, took care of teaching regular

lessons to Rizal. His huge uncle Manuel developed his physique until he had a body of silk

and steel and no longer a skinny and sickly boy. The last uncle, Gregorio instilled in the

mind of Rizal that it was not easy to obtain something until you put effort into it.

Even in his childhood, Rizal already knew how to respect the rights of others and

requested his elders to reason with him rather than get mad at him for small offenses. He

became a welcome companion for adults even at his young age since he respected their

moods and was never a hindrance to their activities.