1) Biography:
Jose Rizal was born on June 1861 in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines, as Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda. Jose’s family resided on leased land owned by a Dominican Catholic order, which made them a prosperous farming family. Despite the fact that the family was descended from a Chinese immigrant, the family chose the surname Mercado as their last name to conceal their ancestors’ origins due to anti-Chinese attitudes at the time.
Jose had remarkable intellect even as a young kid. By the age of three, he could recite the alphabet, and by the age of five, he could read and write. Jose, who was 16 years old at the time, graduated from high school with honors. He specialized on land surveying throughout his studies. After graduating from high school, he continued his studies in land surveying, which he finished in 1877. In May of 1878, he passed the test to get his license in this sector. He was unable to get the license, however, since he was just 17 years old at the time. He didn’t get his license until he was 18 years old, in 1881. When Jose was unable to get his license, he opted to enroll at the University of Santo Tomas and study medicine. He did not remain at this institution for long, however, since he said that the Dominican professors were discriminating against Filipino pupils.
Jose travelled to Madrid and enrolled at the Central University of Madrid in May of 1882 after dropping out and earning his land surveyor’s license. He received his medical degree at the age of 23. He earned a degree from the department of Philosophy and Letters a year after graduating with his medical degree. Rizal returned to school to further his education in the specialty of ophthalmology. In 1887, he earned another doctoral degree in Heidelberg after studying in Paris and Germany.
Jose then relocated to Europe, where he spent 10 years. Rizal mastered ten languages during his stay in Europe and was proficient in all of them. Because of his humor, charismatic attitude, and brilliance, he wowed everyone he encountered. During his stay in Europe, he also penned his first book, which he continued to write throughout his life. Noli Me Tangere, one of his books, was first published in Berlin in 1887. However, despite his apologies, this book outraged Catholic church authorities and members, and he was labelled a troublemaker.
For his works calling for change in Spain, Rizal was finally banished. In 1892, he returned to the Philippines, where he was immediately accused of plotting to ignite an insurrection. He was exiled to an island, where he taught for the next four years. During this period, he met Josephine Bracken, who would later become his wife. They applied for a marriage license, but it was refused due to his religious problems. In 1896, a revolution for Spanish reform had erupted, and Rizal strongly denounced the brutality. He made the decision to visit Cuba and received authorization to do so. He was apprehended and imprisoned on his way to Cuba. He was accused with conspiracy, insurrection, and sedition and was tried by the courts. Despite his strong denials, he was condemned to death. He was allowed to marry Josephine around two hours before he was killed. At the age of 35, he was executed by a firing squad on December 30, 1896.
2) Main works:
To the Filipino Youth:
When Rizal was still a student at the University of Sto. Tomas, he produced this literary poem. Rizal originally wrote this poem in Spanish (A la juventud filipina) and submitted it to the Manila Lyceum of Art and Literature for a poetry contest for Filipinos. At the age of 18, this work is brimming with powerful themes designed to persuade readers, particularly the young, that they are the nation’s hope. He also emphasizes the value of education in a person’s future. Rizal was awarded the first prize, which included a feather-shaped silver pen and a certificate.
Goodbye to Leonor:
The romantic bond between Rizal and his sweetheart, Leonor Rivera, is explored in this literary work. Rivera was just 13 years old when they met in the province of Dagupan. Rivera’s parents were not supportive of their relationship, and despite the distance between them, the two stayed in contact through exchanging letters and photos. Later, Rizal learned that her lady love was about to marry Henry Kipping, which disappointed him greatly. This gloomy poetry was inspired by his lonely, heartbroken sentiments.
To the Young Women of Malolos:
Rizal’s letter To The Young Women of Malolos, addressed to Filipino women, represents his inheritance and provides reminders to Filipino women. He addressed all types of Filipino women in his letter, including moms, spouses, and even single women. He emphasizes the attributes that Filipino mothers should possess, the obligations of wives to their husbands and children, and advice on how young ladies should pick their lifelong mates throughout this literary composition. After being amazed by the ladies of Malolos who won the fight they fought, he came up with the concept for this letter. Rizal encourages women to educate themselves, maintain their dignity and honor, and live with excellent manners in order to set an example for others.
Kundiman:
Traditionally, a kundiman is a love song in which a man serenades the lady he loves. This term was created for academics from the Tagalog phrase “Kung Hindi man” (if it should not be so), which implies that people place their trust in a Higher Being who chooses whether or not anything is suited for them. Rizal, on the other hand, penned a kundiman to express his deep love for his homeland. This essay illustrates his strong desire for the Philippines to be free of betrayal and injustice one day. While he was in Europe, the nation was under serious threats. And, while being far away from the nation, he expresses his positive views via his art.
Junto Al Pasig:
The title of this piece translates to “Beside Pasig River” in English. Rizal created this one-act drama in Spanish for the velada — a spectacular variety show held on the major feast days – in answer to the Jesuits’ request. Leonido (a young Filipino with a deep faith in the Virgin) and the Diwata/Satan, who represents Spanish tyranny of Filipinos, are the central characters in the drama. Its key themes include Christianity, good vs evil, and paganism.
Noli Me Tángere:
Rizal’s great novel, Noli Me Tángere, is still one of the most sought-after works in Philippine literature today (Touch Me Not). Rizal created the book to reveal the flaws of Philippine society during the Spanish colonial period, motivated by his passionate love for his homeland. The Spaniards forbade the Filipinos from reading the controversial work at the time due to the novel’s depiction of illegal deeds. However, they were unable to entirely prohibit it, and as more Filipinos read the book, it revealed the fact that they were being mistreated by the friars. You’ll hear the account of Crisostomo Ibarra, how he interacted with Spanish officials, and how he planned his retribution in this revolutionary novel, which is based on Rizal’s second book, El Filibusterismo.
El Filibusterismo:
This is the follow-up to Rizal’s debut novel, Noli Me Tángere. El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) is a sober tale (as opposed to the positive attitude of the previous novel) that highlights the country’s problems and how the protagonist works to solve them. The plot picks up 13 years after the events of Noli Me Tángere, with insurgent Crisostomo Ibarra now posing as Simoun, a rich jewelry magnate. The work was also prohibited in the Philippines at the time because it depicted Spanish abuse, corruption, and prejudice against Filipinos. Rizal dedicated his second work to the GOMBURZA, a group of Filipino priests led by Mariano Gomez, Jose Apolonio Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora who were hanged for subversion. Rizal’s two works, today regarded literary classics, were both indirectly responsible for the Philippine Revolution.
Mi último adiós:
Rizal was caught and condemned to death by firing squad for crimes of sedition and rebellion after being involved with the Katipuneros. Rizal sent letters to his birthplace and countrymen during his dying days at Manila’s Fort Santiago. Mi ltimo adiós, or My Last Farewell, is one of Rizal’s few remaining compositions.
According to some reports, he composed the poem on the night before his execution, while others suggest he penned it a few days before his death in Manila on December 30, 1896. However, since the poem lacked a title, his dear friend and fellow reformer Mariano Ponce came up with one.
Rizal’s creative works, particularly his two novels, are still alive and well today, with students and professionals delving into them. In the Philippines, colleges and institutions even compel students to take a course centered on Rizal’s life and writings. The country’s national hero is constantly recognized and held in high esteem for his contribution to Philippine independence via his efforts.
3) Main Themes:
Presence of Corrupt Government:
In El Filibusterismo, Rizal accurately depicted the self-serving government officials in the form of Friars. In the novel, we could see how those in power abuse their position to get favors and to satisfy their lust.
Importance of Education:
In El Filibusterismo, officials tried to preserve a monopoly for education. This meant that not everybody had an equal opportunity to better themselves through knowledge. Rizal showed that those in power would rather rule over the uneducated.
Education is portrayed in Noli Me Tángere as a crucial tool in the struggle against injustice. Despite being a mestizo, Ibarra has managed to rise to prominence and gain respect in his community thanks to the education he received in Europe. As a result, he was able to open a school to provide new options for Filipino kids in the coming generation. However, there are limits to education’s influence.
For instance, the church forbids Filipino students from taking Spanish in the classroom, therefore preventing them from being hired for the most important positions in the colonial society. Furthermore, despite his high level of education, Tasio is mocked by the majority of society since his morals and ideologies are different from the accepted ones. Rizal also demonstrates the limitations of education’s capacity for revolution. Ibarra needs extensive informal instruction from his friend Elas before he can genuinely be proud to be a “subversive” since, despite his schooling, he is clueless about the degree of the oppression that Filipinos endure in colonial society.
Religion:
In Noli Me Tángere, religion takes many different shapes. Catholicism is most immediately discernible in the hierarchy and organised structure of the church. Father Salv, for instance, is lustful despite being a priest, and he appears to care about his position mainly because of the power it grants him. Even the clergy, however, frequently do not fully believe in their religious ideas. Similar to Captain Tiago, who gives the impression of being devoted by paying others to pray for him, Tiago truly cares little about religion other than as a method of gaining power.
In truth, his worldview is severely at odds with Catholicism and tends closer toward polytheism. Other characters, like Elas and the older Ibarra, disagree with the church and its rules but yet stick steadfastly to their Catholic faith. Rafael Ibarra is ethically opposed to confession, whereas Elas is against the church hierarchy but has a great faith in God. Elas, who despises the Spanish colonial system, is thankful that the Spanish brought Catholicism, which he regards as the truth, to the Philippines. In fact, no character condemns the Spanish for forcing their faith on others.
Power:
Most of the confrontations in Noli Me Tángere are around power struggles and abuses of power. In an effort to undermine each other’s authority, Father Salvatore and the ensign both use their own spheres of influence. For instance, the ensign imposes a curfew so Father Salvatore cannot celebrate mass at night. The victims of this power struggle are the common citizens of the town, who are forced to choose between the church’s insistence that they work late and the government’s prohibition against staying out past a certain hour at night.
Power abuses are also commonplace: Rafael Ibarra’s body was eventually exhumed from the grave upon Father Dámaso’s direction after he was labelled a “heretic and subversive” and died in prison for having different religious beliefs than the established church. Similar to the elder Ibarra, who loses his engagement and social standing as a result of Father Dámaso’s animosity toward him, the younger Ibarra is excommunicated. The church and the government compete for dominance throughout the entire book.
Sacrifice:
Father Dámaso scorns Ibarra’s assertion that a nation’s prosperity—or lack thereof—is inversely correlated with its degree of freedom and the suffering endured by its forebears early in Noli me Tangere. Ibarra, however, learns how to make such sacrifices throughout Noli Me Tángere in the hopes that the Philippines may one day be a strong and free nation. Ibarra quotes his father as asking him to “sacrifice today for a useful tomorrow” in both his personal life and more broadly, in a political sense, in the letter he writes to Mara Clara before departing for Europe.
The meaning of this sentence is unclear, but Ibarra eventually fulfils his father’s wish by putting his life in danger to better his community’s circumstances throughout the book. Elas ultimately perishes as a result of his battle for the Filipino people, and he urges Basilio to remember “those who fell during the nighttime,” before the sun could rise, in order to respect their sacrifice.
Isolation:
The protagonists of Noli Me Tángere all reside in the colonial Philippines, which is geographically remote from Spain, the centre of the Spanish empire. Due of their isolation, Spaniards are able to fabricate credentials that no one can verify because they are far away from Spain. Filipinos, on the other hand, suffer from this isolation because of the prevalence of corruption and the need to travel to Europe for further education or other chances. José Rizal himself experienced this kind of isolation; he could only complete Noli Me Tángere in Europe and was promptly imprisoned when returning to the Philippines.
The novel also heavily emphasises religious solitude in its plot. Father Dámaso, the town’s priest, turns against the senior Ibarra, cutting him off from the rest of the community. As a result of these events, the elder Ibarra dies, underscoring the grave repercussions of this kind of isolation. Finally, Tasio, who is thought to be insane, separates himself from the rest of the San Diego neighbourhood. Tasio’s seclusion gives him the freedom to follow his unconventional beliefs, but it also limits the influence he can have on the fight for Philippine independence. Tasio ultimately dies alone on the doorstep of his lonely home, in stark contrast to Elas’s valiant dying for the nation.
Revenge:
Over the course of the book, Rizal demonstrates that seeking retribution is, despite sometimes being an acceptable desire, a terribly flawed one. Ibarra is repeatedly tempted to hold Father Dámaso accountable for dishonouring and indirectly killing his father, but he ultimately resolves to channel this rage toward defending his town, as his father would have intended.
When Elas discovers that Ibarra is descended from the guy who destroyed his ancestors’ lives, he is also tempted to attack him, but finally resolves to let the conflict go and fight for the future. But Tarsilo’s destiny demonstrates the futility of retaliation; while he tries to rebel to exact retribution for the death of his father, he is apprehended and slain, proving that those who seek retaliation in the end suffer the consequences. The circle of retaliation between Father Salv and the Ensign, which claims the life of Sisa’s boys, is one example of how revenge also causes harm to others outside the battle.
4) Importance of his works today:
Rizal’s death, contrary to the Spanish plans, greatly boosted the revolutionary cause. Outraged by their hero’s murder, Filipinos rallied to the cause of independence, sparking the revolt that would finally bring the Philippines under Spanish authority. Rizal was a great martyr who stood up against injustice while others remained silent. His views aided in the formation of a national identity for the Philippines, which was a novel notion in Asia at the time. He fought for his ideals till he died. With the death of this intellectual titan, his nation suffered a terrible loss, since he would have undoubtedly played a key role in the Philippines gaining independence and respect. The world has lost an outstanding citizen, a multi-talented guy with a great intellect. He achieved so much in his limited 35 years that one can only think what he might have contributed to the world and the discipline of ophthalmology if he had lived a longer life. He provided sight to his patients, and he gave vision to his nation.
Rizal is regarded as a national hero in the Philippines, where he has become a symbol of the country’s quest for independence. In the Philippines, December 30, the day of Rizal’s execution in 1896, is commemorated as a national holiday. In Manila, the Jose Rizal College was named after him in 1919. In Manila, at the site of his execution in Luneta Park, in his birthplace and most Filipino villages, in Heidelberg, and in Chicago, there are memorial monuments honoring Rizal. His image may be seen on a two-peso note in the Philippines. Rizal was named after the area around Manila, which included his homeland of Calamba. His books are obligatory reading for high school students in the Philippines. Perhaps the simplest way to characterize Jose Rizal is to use his own words from the poem he penned from his cell the night before his execution. One of the last stanzas of “Ultimo Adios” (Final Farewell) demonstrates his unselfish dedication to his nation, familial loyalty, profound spirituality despite ecclesiastical censure, and creative flair.
Pakistan is a country that has achieved independence from colonialism. We should follow Rizal’s lead and go out to discover our own identity, one that is worthy of the struggle that our forefathers had to endure in order for us to have our own separate nation. We must endeavor to ensure its prosperity.