Master of Arts in Political Science

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    Demystifying the political ideas of Jose Rizal through Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
    (2013-11) Balbin, Alfonso C. Jr.
    Jose Rizal wrote the Noll Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo to open the eyes of his people to the grim reality of Spanish corruption and tyranny; to bare their faults woven in the narratives and proposed a two- pronged remedy, that is, through reform and revolution that would lead to the independence of the Philippines from Spain. It was precisely in his honor that the Rizal law (RA 1425) was passed in June 12, 1956. Rizal's political awakening came at the heels of a tragic event that culminated in the execution of Filipino priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora in 1872. Writing the El Fili, Rizal dedicated it to their memory as victims of injustices against which he vowed to avenge. The contemporary opinion holds Rizal vacillating between reform and revolution evinced in his novels and his stern condemnation of the popular uprising against Spain in 1896. And the seeming lack of clear endorsement for a revolutionary armed struggle to win independence from Spain even more complicated the conundrum of his political thoughts. It is believed he was never a revolutionary but a reformist to the end. Thus, the intent of the study was to examine these issues in the light of Rizal's novels and the historic period in which they written. This study aimed to demystify Jose Rizal's political ideas propounded in his novels namely Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What political ideas of Jose Rizal are manifested through textual symbols from Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo? 2. What political ideas of Jose Rizal are manifested through character symbols from Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo? 3. How did Jose Rizal negotiate his reformist and revolutionary ideas from the texts of Noli and El Fili? The study used content analysis to gather and analyze qualitative data from Rizal's novels. It used hermeneutics primarily as method of interpretation. It also used Marxism to interpret the shreds of class contradiction among protagonists as actors in the struggle of Filipinos' nationalist past. The textual and character symbols were the units of analysis of the study. The following are the major findings of the study: 1. The textual symbols of Jose Rizal's political ideas from his novels were reforms and revolutions. In the Noli, Rizal's predominance of a revolutionary theme over reforms already concluded the futility of a peaceful campaign for reforms in Spain and began to chart the pathway of separatism. It follows that this radicalization of Rizal reflected the social turbulence in and his disillusionment to Spain. Further, the shade of class struggle in the novel was not between the ideas of reform and revolution but was between Spaniards and the Filipinos over the Philippines and the minds, will, and bodies of a colonized people. The El Fili is more political than its forerunner. The references to revolution far outweighed those of reforms in the same book and far overwhelmed the total references to revolution in the Noli. Such radicalization only reflected the prevailing mood of the time, both in the Philippines and in Spain. Among other things, anarchism spread in Europe while his family and other Calamba folks were embroiled in a vicious struggle over rent and against corruption of the Dominicans in the management of Calamba Hacienda. 2. The political ideas of reform and revolution were also expressed through character symbols in Rizal's novels. In Noli, the primary proponents of reforms are Crisostomo Ibarra and the schoolmaster, among others; while for the revolutionary movements were Elias, Crisostomo Ibarra, Tarcillo and Bruno. Thus a total of 6 characters that spoke of revolution over the 5 who debated reforms in the Noli. In Fili, the character symbols of revolution far exceeded that of reforms. 3. The political ideas of reform and revolution in Rizal's novels were negotiated as two political alternative strategies. This dichotomy of political strategies in Rizal novels had independence as its definitive goal. These were introduced in different levels of dialogues. Hermeneutically, revolution would have to be the final resort. Reform is submitted as a tactical weapon. Reform should precede things to allow a heightened consciousness of the people of their rights and duties, and to allow Spain to exit the last of her colonies with dignity. In the debate between Simoun and Basilio is no longer a debate. In the dialogue, the negotiations have already ended. The debate was no longer about whether or not a revolution was the path; it was now on how it was to be waged. Based on the findings, the following are the conclusions: 1. The political ideas of reform and revolution are contained in various textual symbols in Rizal's novels through literary mechanisms. 2. The political ideas of reform and revolution are also expressed through the voices of various characters in Rizal's novels. 3. Rizal negotiated the ideas of reform and revolution through dialogues between various textual and character symbols, and wove them into a coherent strategy with reform as a tactical weapon in support of a general strategy of separatism. Based on the findings, the following are recommended: 1. That the teaching of the Rizal course be reassessed to include with emphasis on his revolutionary strategy than his reformism as an alternative tool. 2. That the characters in the novels are mouthpieces of Rizal's political ideas of reform and revolution with independence as its ultimate aim must be re-emphasized in teaching the Rizal course. 3. That the theme of reform and revolution are suggested to be properly contextualized in public discourses and classroom discussions; that they are not contradictory ideas associated with class distinction but two complementary political alternatives. 4. That the scope of this study focused primarily on the novels, a call to include the letters, poems and other writings of Rizal for future studies grounded on historical framework is highly recommended if only to draw a more holistic picture of the Rizaline political agenda.