El Filibusterismo

El Filibusterismo is the second novel written by Dr. Jose P. Rizal and a sequel to Noli Me Tangere. He began the work in October of 1887 while practising medicine in Calamba. In London (1888), he made several changes to the plot and corrected a number of chapters that were already written. Rizal continued to work on this novel while in Paris and Madrid, and, on March 29, 1891, finally completed the manuscript in Biarritz.

Synopsis

The book deals with the return of Noli Me Tangere's main character, Crisostomo Ibarra, under the guise of a wealthy jeweler named Simoun. Disillusioned by the abuses of the Spanish, Ibarra abandons his identity as a pacifist in order to return to the Philippines and start a violent revolution. Noli Me Tangere's Basilio, now a young man, is recruited by Ibarra to aid him by detonating a bomb at a social gathering, signalling the beginning of a revolution. However, Basilio warns his friend Isagani of the plot. Realizing that the woman he loves is in the building, Isagani throws the bomb into the river, averting the explosion and the revolution.

Implicated in these matters, Simoun commits suicide by taking poison, and finds a final resting place with a priest, Father Florentino, who hears his last confession and assures him that not all hope is lost. The priest, upon Simoun's death, commends the jewels into the sea, remarking that the jewels, once used to bribe and corrupt people, would hopefully be found one day to be used for a meaningful purpose.

This novel is very similar to Alexandre Dumas' French classic "The Count Of Monte Cristo". Both illustrate a man's will to avenge himself and get back his beloved fiance. On both novels, the main characters changed their identity and slowly contemplates a plan of vengeance and retribution.

Significance

Scholars and historians interpret the novel as being representative of Rizal's struggle to reconcile his faltering hope for a peaceful reclamation of independence with his belief in nonviolent struggle. The style and content are said to sound closer to a dialogue between two opposing sides, rather than to a free-flowing narrative. Many agree that Simoun's death and Father Florentino's lamentations ultimately reaffirm Rizal's conviction that freedom could be achieved without the need for armed struggle.

External links

• El Filibusterismo (English translation) from Project Gutenberg
• El Filibusterismo (Summaries and study guide questions in Filipino)