The Synopsis and Theme of Jose Rizal’s El Filibusterismo
Copyright © Jensen DG. Mañebog/ MyInfoBasket.com
The story in El Filibusterismo revolves around its main character Simoun who is an affluent jeweler. Simoun is actually Crisostomo Ibarra of the Noli whom everyone thought had been killed by the Guardia Civil at Laguna de Bay.
He had in fact escaped, fled to Cuba, become wealthy, and made connections with influential Spanish officials. Upon his return to the Philippines after many years, he becomes very influential as the governor general, who owes so much to him, consults him in making decisions.
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In reality however, everything Simoun does is just part of his grand plan to take revenge against the Spanish officials and rescue Maria Clara from the convent. Planning to stage a revolution, he smuggles arms and looks for followers, mainly from the exploited and abused natives.
One of his recruits is Basilio, the son of Sisa, who with Capitan Tiago’s help was able to study in Manila.
Simoun also makes an alliance with the revolutionary group of Kabesang Tales, a former ‘cabeza de barangay’ who suffered maltreatments from the hands of the friars.
Using his influence, Simoun encourages corruption, decadence, and more oppressive government policies so that the citizens may become more infuriated.
However, the planned revolt one night was not carried out because Simoun, upon hearing that Maria Clara died in the nunnery, decided not to give the signal for the outbreak of the uprising.
Another plan was made some months later. At the venue of the wedding reception of Juanito Pelaez and Paulita Gomez, Simoun planted many explosives—enough to kill the invited guests, primarily the friars and government officials.
According to the plot, the big explosion shall be started by the gift he would give to the newlyweds at the reception—a kerosene lamp with an explosive. When the lamp flickers and someone turns the wick, it will result into a big explosion that will become a signal to the revolutionary troops to simultaneously attack all the government buildings in Manila.
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During the reception, Simoun gives his gift to the newly-weds. Before hurriedly leaving the venue, he leaves a piece of mysterious paper bearing the message “You will die tonight” signed by Juan Crisostomo Ibarra.
Meanwhile, Isagani, the rejected lover of Paulita, is standing outside the reception. His friend Basilio tells him to leave the place because the lamp will soon blow up.
When Father Salvi identifies the handwriting in the note and confirms that it was indeed Ibarra’s, the guests begin to panic. When the lamp flickers, Father Irene tries to turn the wick up. But Isagani, wanting to save Paulita’s life, rushes into the house, grabs the lamp, and throws it into the river where it explodes.
Simoun’s revolutionary plot was thus known and he is thus hunted by the law enforcers. He managed to escape but was seriously wounded. Carrying his jewelry chest, he finds shelter in the home of Padre Florentino by the sea. Learning of his presence in the house of the priest, the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil informs Padre Florentino that he will come in the evening to arrest Simoun.
Check out: Jose Rizal’s Collaborations with Other Heroes by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Simoun then takes poison that he would not be caught alive. As the poison’s effects start to take toll on his body, he confesses to Florentino his true identity and his plan of revenge through bloody revolution. After the emotional and agonizing confession of the dying man, the priest absolves the dying man from his sins, saying:
“God will forgive you Señor Simoun. He knows that we are fallible. He has seen that you have suffered … He has frustrated your plans one by one … first by the death of Maria Clara, then by a lack of preparation, then in some mysterious way. Let us bow to His will and render Him thanks!”
The story ends with the priest throwing Simoun’s treasures into the sea so that they would not be used by the greedy. The priest hopes that when the right time comes, they would be recovered and used only for the good.
The novel’s themes
Indeed a continuation of the Noli, the El Filibusterismo exposes the real picture of Filipino society at the hands of the Spanish authorities. Socio-political issues mentioned in the Noli are also dealt with in its sequel: the abuses and hypocrisy of the members of the Spanish Catholic clergy, superstitions disguising as religious faith, the need for reform in educational system, the exploitation and corruption of government officials, and the pretenses of some social-climbing Filipinos and Spaniards.
What makes El Fili essentially different from its prequel is that it offers various means of attaining social reform and somewhat hinted what the author believed was ideal. Some dialogues and incidents seem to suggest the apparent improbability of any radical socio-political change.
The main character’s persistence to push through with the rebellion, on the other hand, seems to suggest that independence is attainable through revolution. However, the closing chapters rather insinuate that freedom must be attained without bloodshed as the story ends with the failure of Simoun’s planned uprising.
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The novel’s ending, some scholars explain however, should not be interpreted as Rizal’s categorical stand against revolution. At best, Rizal can be said to be against unprepared and disorganized rebellion of an uneducated people which could have slim chance of victory.
It is important to note that Rizal once commented that an upright, patriotic, and selfless individual like Noli’s Elias would be a viable revolutionary leader. In fact, Rizal was said to have confessed that he seriously regretted having killed Elias instead of Ibarra.
These seem to prove that Rizal, though practically promoting the attainment of reforms peacefully, also advocated the idea of armed revolution under some conditions. Intelligent as he is, what Rizal would never subscribe to is the “useless spilling of blood,” but not the uprising per se.
Comparing Noli and El Fili
Rizalwrote the El Filibusterismo about four years after the Noli. The experiences he had in those four years spelled a lot of differences in the way he treated his two novels.
In depicting the social conditions in the country, both novels employ satires and caricatures. El Fili however is more serious as there is less humor and more bitterness in the treatment of situations.
In the Noli, the author reveals the cruelty and exploitation suffered by the natives at the hands of colonizers. In El Fili, Rizal depicts a society at the brink of rebellion as the natives’ minds have been awakened and revolutionary forces have been formed.
Generally, El Fili presents a gloomier depiction of the country under the Spanish regime. More radical and revolutionary, the novel has less idealism and romance than the Noli.
The El Fili manifests Rizal’s more mature and less hopeful attitude toward the socio-political situation in the country. The grimmer outlook and more tragic mood can be attributed to the persecutions and sufferings the author and his family experienced from the Spanish friars and officials in the years he was writing the novel.
Check Out: The Colorful Love Affairs of Dr. Jose Rizal by Jensen DG. MañebogNotwithstanding the sufferings caused by the Spaniards to the Rizal family, the Fili, its author claimed, is not a matter of revenge. Jose wrote to Blumentritt: “I have not written in it [Fili] any idea of vengeance against my enemies, but only for the good of those who suffer, for the rights of Tagalogs …”
Some of Rizal’s friends like Blumentritt and Graciano Lopez Jaena expressed that Fili was more superior than Noli. Rizal himself apparently once believed in the superiority of the Fili. When its printing had to be stopped for lack of funds, he wrote to Basa: “It is a pity because it seems to me that this second part [the Fili] is more important than the first [the Noli].”
After the Fili was published nonetheless, Rizal appeared to have a change of heart. In his October 13, 1891 letter to Marcelo Del Pilar, he said:
“I appreciate what you say about my work and I value your opinion highly that considered my Filibusterismo inferior to the Noli. I, too frankly, without irony or words with a double meaning, share your opinion. For me, the Filibusterismo as a novel is inferior to the Noli… You are the first one to tell me the truth and I agree with you. This flatters me as it proves that I still know how to judge myself. “
As regards his friends who told him that Fili was better, Rizal explained in the same letter: “Blumentritt, all those in Paris and Barcelona, for their benevolence towards me say it [the Fili] is superior. I attribute it only to their benevolence.” … continue reading
*If you want to know more about Rizal (e.g. Rizal’s girlfriends), search here:
Copyright © Jensen DG. Mañebog/ MyInfoBasket.com
Read: The Colorful Love Affairs of Dr. Jose Rizal by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Read: The El Filibusterismo
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