NMT1

• Noli Me Tangere (commonly referred to by its shortened name Noli) is a novel written in Spanish by Filipino writer and national hero José Rizal, first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. The English translation was originally titled The Social Cancer, although more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.
• Rizal read Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel on the abuse of black slaves in America and thought that a novel should be written about the abuses that Philippine natives were suffering at the hands of the Spanish friars.
• Rizal proposed to his Filipino friends in Madrid in 1884 that they collaborate in writing a novel on the Philippines.
• The group of friends included Rizal’s hosts, the Paternos (Pedro, Maximo, and Antonio), and Graciano Lopez Jaena.
• Although the other men approved of the idea of writing on Philippine life, they all wanted to write about women rather than about national problems and in any case preferred to gamble and flirt than to write.
• Rizal decided he would have to write the entire book himself.
• Rizal began work on the Noli while still in Madrid, Spain.
• Most of the remainder of the Noli was written in Paris.
• Rizal finished the book in Berlin, Germany.
• Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, a well-known writer and political activist, volunteered to be the proofreader and consultant for the Noli.
• When Rizal was finishing the book in December 1886, he was penniless and despaired of ever publishing it.
• The novel might never have seen print had it not been for the support of his wealthy friend, Maximo Viola, who came to visit him in Berlin.
• Rizal gratefully presented Viola with the galley proofs of Noli on 29 March 1887, the day that Noli was printed.
• Noli me tangere is a Latin phrase that Rizal took from the Bible, meaning “Touch me not.”
• It has also been noted by French writer D. Blumenstihl that “Noli me tangere” was a name used by ophthalmologists for cancer of the eyelids. That as an ophthalmologist himself Rizal was influenced by this fact is suggested in his dedication, “To My Country”:
• Jose Rizal was a brilliant writer and political activist whose writings inspired the Philippine Revolution.
• Jose Rizal was executed by the Spanish colonizers in Bagumbayan, now called Luneta, in Manila on December 30, 1896.
• Jose Rizal's enduring legacy lies in his unwavering commitment to advocating for Philippine independence and his role in motivating his fellow countrymen to strive for their freedom.
• While studying in Europe, Jose Rizal began writing his first novel, Noli Me Tangere.
• In Noli Me Tangere, Jose Rizal depicted a vivid and realistic portrayal of the social conditions in the Philippines, including colonialism, corruption, social inequality, and religious oppression.
• Noli Me Tangere is the story of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra, a successor of a wealthy family, who returns home to San Diego "where still roam deer and boars" from his seven-year education in the German section of sophisticated Switzerland. During his absence, his father, Don Rafael Ibarra, was imprisoned for the accidental death of a Spanish tax collector. Don Rafael died in prison, and he was denied a Christian burial by Father Damaso, San Diego's parish priest because he had stopped going to confession long before his death and was a subscriber to liberal publications.
• The young Ibarra finds the deplorable conditions in his country virtually unchanged since he had left for Europe. Inflamed with a desire to educate his people and bring progress to his hometown, he establishes a school patterned after the progressive schools he had known in Europe. Though enthusiastically endorsed by the townspeople, his project is skepticism by the old scholar Tasio who, years before, had attempted to do the same thing but failed. The new parish priest, Father Salvi, also looks at the school disapprovingly. He sees it as a dangerous threat to his authority over the natives.
• During the laying of the school's cornerstone, an attempt is made on Ibarra's life. However, he is saved by Elias, the mysterious boatman whom he had earlier rescued from death during a picnic at the lake. The friars constantly harass and persecute Ibarra in San Diego. At one gathering, the vilification hurled against his dead father almost provoked Ibarra to kill Father Damaso. However, his hand is stayed by his fiancée Maria Clara.
• He is excommunicated by the friar and later absolved by the archbishop. Finally, a false rebellion is plotted, and through forged documents, Ibarra is implicated as its leader. Unwittingly, his fiancee had lent support to the plotters by providing them with a specimen of his signature when she was forced to exchange his love letter for some letters which contained the hidden secret of her paternity.
• Ibarra is imprisoned and later rescued by Elias. The latter hides him in a banca covered with zacate and rows him under a barrage of gunfire. Elias is wounded and sacrifices his life for his beloved friend; Ibarra quietly buries Elias in the woods belonging to his family; then, he flees the country, leaving the impression that he had died from the civil guard's bullets.
• Father Damaso urges the distraught Maria Clara to marry the Spaniard Alfonso Linares. She refuses and enters the nunnery of the Poor Clares instead
• Juan Crisostomo Ibarra Y Magsalin, is a cultured and self respected ( but the friars), crisostomo is the protagonist of the novel and represents the educated and enlightened class of Filipinos who seek reforms and justice under Spanish rule
• Maria Clara De Los Santos, ibarra's love interest since childhood. She symbolizes the idealized filipino women of the time.) The daughter of Captain tiago and Dona Pia Alba but an legitimate daughter of padre damaso.

  she represents the limited freedom and opportunities available to women in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial
• Elias, a mysterious character who helps barra member of oppressed class

  -he plays a role as a guide and mentor to crisostomo ibarra by providing his valuable insights regarding to the harsh realities of life in the philippine under the Spanish rule.

  - his character represents the indomitable spirit (strong, Brave) of the Filipino people and also symbolizes the spirit of resistance and patriotism
• Don Rafael Ibarra - inspiration for crisostomo ibarra his son (because don rafael's principles and ideas influence crisostomo ibarra) - his character is a symbol of hope and progress in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period because he is an advocate for positive change and reforms in the Philippines.
• Padre Damaso - a corrupt and power-hungry friar and serve as the antagonist in the story representing the abuses and corruption within the catholic church. - his character reflects the broader social and political injustice by the Spanish colonial administration in the Philippines. he is a symbol of corruption and cruelty.
• Kapitan Tiago - represents the upper- class filipinos during the Spanish colonial period, a wealthy landowner and a man of social influence. - reflects the struggle of individual who had to balance their desire for positive change with the constraints and pressures of colonial rule - he had to navigate between his loyalty to the colonial authorities and his desire for positive change.
• Sisa - mother of basilio and crispin which she is a mentally disturbed women -she is the symbol of motherhood and sacrifice but also a symbol of suffering she endured by the common people under Spanish colonial rule.
• Padre Salvi - another priar, also symbolizes the religious hypocrite
• Basilio and Crispin -two young brothers and the children of SISA - their story highlights the abuse and exploitation of the youth by the church and the government.
• BASILIO > attends a school run by the parish priest, PAdre Salvi, because he aspire to receive an education and improve his social standing. His character symbolizes the hope for progress and change in a society marked by inequality, oppression, and a lack of opportunities.
• CRISPIN > on the other hand works as a sacristan at a local church, he is subjected to abuse and exploitation by those in power, including Padre Salvi and the corrupt sacristan mayor Hermana Bali. His story is tragic, he illustrates the harsh realities faced by marginalized individuals under the spanish colonial system.
• Crisostomo was shocked to learn about his father’s death. Lieutenant Guevarra, his father’s friend, told the story behind his father’s death. He was told that Padre Damaso ordered the gravediggers to transfer Rafael Ibarra’s body to the Chinese Cemetery. Although the gravediggers did not follow Padre Damaso’s order, they threw the body into the river. This made Crisostomo Ibarra angry that made him start a revolution against Padre Damaso and the Spanish government.