Rizal wrote three famous works of literature, namely the Noli Me Tangere, El

Filibusterismo and Mi Ultimo Adios. Among Rizal’s three works, the Philippine government
requires students from different levels (high school to college) to read the Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo novels. To better understand the text and what it implies, these books
are also discussed in Filipino or History classes.
The state requires college students to read and understand the Noli and El Fili because
these books are written by our declared national hero and because many believe that the story
found in the books is what sparked the revolution against our Western conquerors during the
Spanish period. I believe that the state is trying to reinforce a sense of nationality and
patriotism within the younger generation and to help others see the mistakes that were
committed in the past so as to help us avoid these mistakes in the future. The text can also be
used to teach the younger generations about the life of our national hero, Jose Rizal, since
Ibarra’s story is parallel to how Rizal’s life was lived.
In in the Noli Me Tangere, Rizal presents himself to the readers/audience as Juan
Crisostomo Ibarra, a returning Filipino to our country after studying in Europe for seven
years. Despite his father’s death, he is met by fellow Filipinos in a welcoming party
organized by his long-time lover’s (Maria Clara) father, Kapitan Tiago. From the start of the
book, the Spanish influence and dominance is evidently seen through the presence of the friar
named Padre Damaso and how he interacted and belittled Ibarra at the party thrown for him.
He continued his prejudiced and harmful behavior, from how he interacted with/treated
Ibarra’s father (Don Rafael) to his actions towards Ibarra himself. The corruption and abuses
of the Spanish friars were also reveal to Ibarra by Guevara, depicting a very debased society
that is run by foreigners.
I personally see the significant and crucial role of Maria Clara as the one the most
important aspects of the novel. She is the love of Ibarra’s life, possibly part of the reason why
he chose to come home to the Philippines (despite her being betrothed to someone else). The
parallel of Maria Clara’s role in Rizal’s life is that of our national hero’s relationship with
the Philippines. Despite him living abroad, he was still very much connected with the other
Filipinos residing in Europe as well, even participating in meetings, parties and planning, etc.
Even though Maria Clara was set to marry someone else (can be compared to how the
Philippines, instead of becoming an independent state, was tied to the Spanish crown), he still
somewhat made his love for her felt (ex. Ibarra and Maria Clara’s first meeting in the
balcony).
 An important comparison between Ibarra’s and Rizal’s life is how they both valued
education of the people in our country. Both Ibarra and Rizal aspired to build a school in the
country since they both believed that proper education is the key to a country’s progress. This
part of the novel could have been placed in the story to encourage people to see the
importance of education and how it could be of help in learning to love our own country and
to help us progress. Another important parallel between Ibarra’s and Rizal’s life is the fact
that they were both implicated in a situation wherein they both weren’t fully aware of what
was going on. Ibarra was implicated as the head or mastermind of a revolution that was
actually headed by Lucas. Rizal was implicated as the “head” or face of the revolution against
the Spaniards during the Spanish colonization period, a predicament that lead to his
execution/death. Unlike Ibarra though, Rizal wasn’t able to escape his undeserved
punishment.
In the end of Noli Me Tangere, Maria Clara was shown as someone desolate that her
true love is dead. It was then revealed the Padre Salvi was using her as to physically “relieve”
himself of sexual tension. This symbolism is incredibly appropriate in the sense that the
Spaniards (represented by Padre Salvi) were literally taking advantage, harming and abusing
the Philippines and its people (represented by Maria Clara). On the other hand, El
Filibusterismo is the story of how Ibarra, now identified under the alias Simoun, took revenge
against his enemies. El Fili is basically a symbolism of the resistance and revolution against
our past colonizers.
In conclusion, I think that the state “forces”/requires college students to read Rizal’s
novels to learn more about our struggle as a collective unit during the period of colonization,
since this is very much part of our history and culture. Since college students are assumed to
be able to understand things more deeply and objectively, I personally believe that we are
very capable of opening our minds to our past as a nation and possibly developing new
perspectives to creating solutions to probable problems in the future. Learning more about the
life of our national hero and the story of the struggle for independence of our forefathers is
important since we are able to develop our sense of patriotism or love of country that could
inspire us to live as better Filipinos.