Critical Essay Maningas PDF

Maria Consuelo D.
Maningas Critical Essay

GERIZAL L81 2 August 2020
Nationalism as seen through Rizal’s Heroism
While the word ‘nationalism’ is too broad to define, this idea and movement was slowly
emerged during Jose Rizal’s time particularly 19th century and so forth. To better understand
what the concept of nationalism holds in relation to Rizal’s heroism, we should consider and take
into accounts the perspectives of those people involved in passing of the Republic Act 1425
(Rizal bill). This bill was implemented for all educational institutions to offer the life and works
written by Rizal particularly the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. It is no doubt
that many of the Filipinos admire Jose Rizal as our national hero, yet seem to have no effort to
thoroughly study and analyze his written works.
The passing of the Rizal bill was indeed a challenge for Jose P. Laurel and Claro M.
Recto in which they faced numerous disputes with the members of the Catholic Church. Indeed,
this bill would teach us Filipino students to develop our moral character and adapt the duties and
discipline that exhibits good citizenship. Looking into Rizal’s life, he committed his life to fight
for the freedom and rights of the Filipinos through pen and paper. Moreover, it is a continuing
source of inspiration and patriotism for students to love one's country.
According to Laurel (1956), “Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo must be read by all
Filipinos. They must be taken to hear, for in their pages we see ourselves as in a mirror; our
defects as well as our strength, our virtues as well as our vices. Only then we would become
conscious as a people, and so learn to prepare ourselves for painful sacrifices that ultimately
lead to self-reliance, self-respect and freedom.” I n this section, Laurel emphasizes the
significance of the philosophy and ideologies that Rizal had instilled in those two novels. These
ideas would acquaint the readers, especially the youth at their formative years, to gain civic
consciousness of the social dynamics and forces occurring in the society. Rizal exposed the evil
colonial ruling of the Spaniards and catholic members of the church, as well as to make the
Filipinos realize their struggles and unjust way of living (Ikehata, 1968). Rizal portrayed the
virtues and deeds of the people during his time, and surprisingly it is ironic that members of the
Catholic church who should display a moral character towards its people, they instead use their
religious position and power to manipulate and abuse these so-called indios. What has happened
before might still reflect on what is happening today. Only then we would gain consciousness
when we are collectively being oppressed and realize that there is a need to uphold our human
rights. Moreover, these novels give us a new perspective as it deepens our understanding of the
forces and dynamics enveloped in our society and culture. Oppression being faced by the
collective individuals of the Philippine society is still prevalent today as well as the spreading of
western ideologies. Reading these novels would offer us an act to correct on what is justly right
for the benefit of all.
In Setsuko Ikehata’s account (1968), he discussed the rewriting of the Philippine history
as one of the major subjects being faced by scholars and researchers. Rizal rejected the
Philippine History as depicted by the foreign invaders, which led him to think that there is a
necessity to rewrite Philippine history from the viewpoint of the Filipinos. In light of this, he
made a commentary on Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Historical events of
the Philippines Islands) and other works related. While Rizal stayed in Europe where intellectual
development was increasing such as liberal ideologies and movements, he increased his
knowledge and understanding of the Filipino’s culture and language. Education was not
generously given to Filipino indios, only the ilustrados were given the privilege to study at
highly prestigious universities both inside and outside of the Philippines. Spaniards were against
providing education for the indios because they were afraid that a period would come where the
‘educated’ ones would start questioning their authority and ask for social reforms and
independence. With Rizal having all the privilege to study abroad, at one point he did not have
any thought or intentions to abandon his mission for his native country. Nationalism, in this case,
can be seen through Rizal’s actions in the sense of correcting the colonial bias and ideology
instilled in our history by rediscovering and rewriting the pre-conquest past of the Filipinos.
Moreover, it was safe to assume that there had already been a culture existing among them
before the arrival of the colonizers. A culture in which the Filipinos could take pride in while on
the search of what makes their national identity. Rizal believed that this ‘legitimate; culture was
then declined during the process of Spain’s colonization to the Philippines.
To conclude, I can define ‘nationalism’ as an act of gaining a sense of collective and
civic consciousness among Filipinos. As seen through Rizal’s works, he primarily placed his
interest first on writing social reforms for Filipinos to gain freedom and independence from
Spanish authorities. It is also an act of promoting the country’s national identity and culture (in
all aspects) in which Rizal found a necessity to rewrite Philippine history free from western
ideology and bias. Rizal’s heroic act was not depicted through his manner of death, but his
journey in the fight for freedom and national independence of the Philippines.
References
Ikehata, S. (1968). Jose Rizal: The Development of the National View of History and National
Consciousness in the PHilippines. Retrieved August 02, 2020, from
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1746-1049.1968.tb01123
.x
Laurel, J.B. (1956). The Trials of the Rizal Bill.
Philippines. (1956). Republic Act No. 1425 (originally House Bill No. 5561 and Senate Bill No.
438): AN ACT TO INCLUDE IN THE CURRICULA OF ALL PUBLIC
AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS, COLLEGES ON THE LIFE, WORKS AND
WRITINGS OF JOSE RIZAL, PARTICULARLY HIS NOVELS NOLI
ME TANGERE AND EL FILIBUSTERISMO, AUTHORIZING THE
PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.

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Maria Consuelo D.

Maningas Critical Essay

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