NOLI ME TANGERE

Inspiration to the Noli Me Tangere

1. The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue
2. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
3. Bible
 History
The word “Noli Me Tangere” (Touch Me Not) is derived
from the John 20:17 of the Bible. Rizal chose the title
because the novel tackles some social issues in the
Philippines that people feared to talk about.
On January 2, 1884, Jose Rizal proposed to his fellow
propagandists in Spain to write a novel portraying the
social ills in the Philippine society. Most of them were
reluctant to contribute so Rizal decided to write the novel
on his own.
Jose Rizal wrote the first half of the Noli Me Tangere in
Madrid, Spain, a quarter in Paris, France, and the last
quarter in Berlin, Germany
Having the novel published was challenging at first
because Rizal experienced financial difficulty while in
Germany. He was forced to remove one chapter of the
novel “Elias and Salome”.
With the help of Maximo Viola, the novel was finally
published in 1887.
Characters
 Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin
A wealthy young mestizo who has just returned to the
Philippines after seven years of studying in Europe, Ibarra
is sophisticated, highly esteemed, and very idealistic. The
friars of San Diego all view him with great wariness on
account of his highly liberal education and connections. His
father, the equally idealistic Don Rafael, was labeled a
subversive and a heretic by the corrupt priesthood and
incarcerated, ultimately leading to his death.
Ibarra hopes to create a school in San Diego in order to carry
out his father's dreams and ideals, but he becomes entangled
in conflicts with the church and is forced to flee from San
Diego as a result of a conspiracy led by the scheming Father
Salví. In contrast to his more radical friend Elías, Ibarra
generally wants to work within system to reform the
Philippines, rather than overthrow them, but he shifts towards
Elías's beliefs as the novel progresses.
 Don Rafael Ibarra
Crisóstomo Ibarra’s father is posthumously mentioned in the
novel. Although he was not in direct conflict with the friars, he
seldom attended masses which earns the ire of the vitriolic
Father Dámaso, who accuses him of sedition and heresy. He
dies in prison before his name can be cleared. His remains
are buried in the Catholic cemetery in the town of San Diego,
but Father Dámaso hires a gravedigger to disinter his body to
have him buried at the Chinese cemetery because of his
status as a heretic.
 María Clara de Los Santos y Alba
A woman of high social standing, she is thought to be the
daughter of Capitan Tiago and goddaughter of Father
Dámaso. María Clara grew up alongside Ibarra and
planned to marry him, but Father Dámaso disapproved the
planned union.
After Ibarra was excommunicated from the church, her
guardians set her up to be wed to Linares, a young
Spaniard, and she tried to go along with the plan to avoid
hurting her father, the weak-willed Capitan Tiago.
When Ibarra was put on trial for sedition, she was coerced
into surrendering the letters Ibarra had sent her as evidence
of his guilt. Ultimately, when she heard of Ibarra's apparent
death, she refused to marry Linares and joined a convent.
Although raised as the daughter of Captain Santiago "Kapitán
Tiyago" de Los Santos and his wife Doña Pía Alba, who are
both native Filipinos, María Clara is revealed to have been
the illegitimate daughter of Padre Dámaso, a Spanish friar,
who coerced Doña Pía into illicit sexual relations.
 Don Santíago de los Santos
A son of a wealthy trader in Malabon. Due to his mother's
cruelty, Kapitán Tiago did not attain any formal education. He
became a servant of a Dominican priest. When the priest and
his father died, Kapitán Tiago decided to assist in the family
business of trading before he met his wife Doña Pía Alba,
who came from another wealthy family. After their consistent
devotion to Santa Clara in Obando as advised by Father
Damaso, they were blessed with a daughter who shared the
same features as Padre Dámaso, named Maria Clara.
He is close to the priests because he had given numerous
contributions of money during ecclesiastical donations and
always invited the parish curate to every formal dinner. He was
also entrenched with the government because he always
supported tax increases whenever the local officials wished.
That was the reason he obtained the title of gobernadorcillo, the
highest government position that a non-Spaniard could have in
the Philippines.
 Padre Dámaso Verdolagas

A Franciscan friar who was the former curate of the parish

church of San Diego. He is a power-hungry, and shamelessly
corrupt Spanish priest who had lived among the native
Filipinos for nearly two decades. In spite of having spent all
that time among them, the years have done nothing to endear
him or develop any sympathy in him for his “flock.” He is
deeply racist, as well as petty and vindictive, and he thinks
nothing of using his considerable influence to ruin the
lives of those who have slighted him, regardless of how small
the offense is. He masterminded the death of Don Rafael
Ibarra, then brazenly taunted the younger Ibarra. Padre
Damaso was known to be friendly with the Ibarra family, so
much that Crisóstomo was surprised by what the former
curate had done to Don Rafaél.
After he publicly insults Ibarra's father, Ibarra attacks him and
he excommunicates Ibarra from the church. He is also the
godfather (and, in fact, the biological father) of María Clara,
giving him influence over her relationship with Ibarra.
 Don Anastacio (Pilósopo Tasyo)
One of the most important characters in Noli. On the one
hand, he is referred to as a philosopher/sage (hence,
Pilosopo Tasyo) because his ideas were accurate with the
minds of the townspeople. On the other hand, if his ideas
were against the thinking of the majority, he was considered
the Imbecile Tacio (or Tasyong Sintu-sinto) or Lunatic Tacio
(Tasyong Baliw).
Filósofo Tacio was born into a wealthy Filipino family. His
mother let him be formally educated, then abruptly ordered
him to stop. She feared Tasyo would become "too educated"
and lose his faith and devotion to religion. His mother gave
him two choices: either go into the priesthood or stop his
education. Tasyo chose the latter because he had a girlfriend
that time. Soon enough, they married and after a year, Tasyo
widowed while his mother also died. Most of his time was
taken up in reading and buying books that all his properties
were lost and he became poor.
 Eliás
A fugitive living in San Diego. Enduring one tragedy after
another, he began working to improve society. After his life
was saved by Crisostomo Ibarra, he began aiding the young
man, saving him on numerous occasions. He came from the
family which the Ibarra clan had oppressed for generations.
Elias and Ibarra continued supporting each other until Elias
sacrificed himself to help him one last time. He was shot by
the guards (mistakenly took as Ibarra trying to dive down the
river and escape) and slowly died.
 The Ensign (The Alferez)
The nameless head of the Civil Guard of the township of San
Diego. A man of Spanish descent, he is in a constant bitter
feud with Father Salví to gain power in the town. He imposes
curfews that make it all but impossible for the citizens of San
Diego to attend mass at the proper schedule. He drinks
excessively and is married to Doña Consolación, who he
frequently fights with.
 Doña Consolacíon

a former laundry woman who worked for the Guardia Civil in

the town of San Diego.
She became wealthy after marrying the Spanish alferez who
physically and psychologically abused her. Although she was
a rival of Donya Victorina, they share similar character traits.
She ashamed of her heritage and pretends to be unable to
speak Tagalog, her own native language. Instead, she speaks
very bad Spanish.
 Doña Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña
a socialite and friend of Capitan Tiago. She along with her
husband Don Tiburcio sought to associate themselves with
the influential figures of San Diego in order to gain further
social status.
She pretends to be a Spanish mestiza and always dreamed
of finding a Spanish husband, in which she married Don
Tiburcio. She was feared by everyone in the town because of
her odd appearance, her ruthless personality, and her fierce
rivalry against Donya Consolacion.
 “Doctor” Tiburcio de Espadaña
A fraud and a hustler, the Spaniard who calls himself Doctor
Tiburcio de Espadaña was actually a customs officer who
was dismissed from his post shortly after arriving in the
Philippines. Despite having no medical experience, he travels
the countryside posing as a doctor, charging extortionate fees
for his so-called services after his wife encourages him to
pretend to be a doctor. The moment his patients eventually
catch wind of his schemes, he is forced to relocate to another
area where he is all but unknown. He finds his way to San
Diego, where he resumes his fake medical practice.
 Linares
Tiburcio de Espadaña’s nephew, a young Spanish man. Like
his uncle, he had forged credentials and hopes to climb
through the social ranks. He became Maria Clara’s fiance.
Aunt Isabel
A cousin of Capitan Tiago who raised Maria Clara as her own
child after her mother’s untimely death.
 Father Salví
A younger, more cunning Spanish priest who assumes control
over Father Damaso’s post as friar curate of San Diego. He is
in many regards more dangerous that his predecessor as he
is a more gifted strategist who uses his religious role for
political influence as well as personal vendettas. He
frequently fights with the town's ensign for power. His most
significant role in the novel comes through his plot to ruin
Ibarra, who is engaged to María Clara, who he is lusting for.
 Sisa
a woman living in San Diego and the mother of Basilio and
Crispin. She was married to an abusive husband. After both
of her sons went missing, Sisa went insane, wandering
around town while searching for them.
Before her descent into madness, Sisa was a generous
mother to her sons, as well as amiable towards people like
her neighbor Pilosopo Tasio.
At the end of the novel, Basilio grievously mourns for his
mother as he found her dying under the tree.
 Crispín
A young boy studying to be a church caretaker, Crispín and his
brother Basilio work ceaselessly to send support money to their
beleaguered mother, Sisa. Crispín is blamed for stealing money
from the church coffers by the head sexton and is kept a virtual
prisoner until the debt is paid. On the night that he and his
brother were to visit their mother, the head sexton keeps them
until the curfew, effectively barring the brothers from travelling.
The head sexton beats him and he is never seen again
afterward, presumably dying at the hands of the cruel head
sexton, though another church official claims he escaped.
 Basilio
Basilio is Crispín's older brother. Like his younger brother, he works
as a sacristan. Basilio makes a desperate run for their home the
night Crispín is dragged away and attempts to locate his younger
brother the day after, but his search efforts are fruitless. The
following day, the Civil Guard comes looking for him and his
brother. Fearing for his life, he runs to the forest where he goes into
hiding, living with kind family until Christmas Eve. When he finally
locates Sisa, he learns that she has gone mad from grief and is
thus unable to identify him as her son. He follows her to the forest,
where she regains her sanity temporarily and then died shortly
after.
 Lt. Guevara
A morally upright man of Spanish descent who holds both
Crisóstomo Ibarra and the late Don Rafael in high esteem, he
is also the lieutenant of the Civil Guard. He is one of the few
who openly support the Ibarras and is vocal about his dislike
of Father Dámaso’s control. He informs Crisóstomo Ibarra of
the fate of his father and how Father Damaso was involved in
his death.
 The Schoolmaster
A teacher that Don Rafael housed, thus allowing him to
suitably attend to the task of instructing students; he informs
Crisóstomo Ibarra of the sorry state of education of San
Diego since the passing of his father. The friars closely watch
the materials being taught in the school, forbidding him from
teaching Spanish. The schoolmaster is grateful to the Ibarra
family, but he is not hopeful that he’ll make headway in
getting any lasting educational reforms to happen.
 Don Filipo (Filipo Lino)
Don Filipo Lino is a representative of the younger, less
religiously shackled generation of movers and shakers in San
Diego, and he also serves as the vice mayor of the town. He
despises the idea of spending lavish amounts of money on
the numerous feast days that mark the religious calendar,
seeing it as both wasteful and burdensome to the citizens.
His words, however, fall on deaf ears as he is only deputy
mayor, and the mayor himself is a dedicated follower of the
Catholic church and the de facto mouthpiece of the friars.
 The Mayor
Nothing more than a marionette of the Catholic priesthood,
the unnamed mayor of San Diego is very conservative and
bows down to the religious officials of the town.
The Yellow Man
An assassin tasked to kill the younger Ibarra, his plot to
murder the young man is thwarted by the cunning Elias. He is
given this moniker for his permanently sallow, jaundiced
complexion.
 Father Sibyla
A priest serving in the Binondo district in the city of Manila,
Father Sibyla serves as a foil to the otherwise largely corrupt
Father Dámaso and the perverse Father Salví as he is
rational and calm. Father Sibyla is an adept and shrewd
orator who takes obvious delight in antagonizing the
pompous Father Dámaso at Ibarra’s return party.
Noli Me Tangere Symbols, Allegory and
Motifs
 The School
Ibarra's attempt to build a school in his community illustrates
his political views, particularly his belief about the power of
education. The school thus symbolizes empowerment
through education, which is unavailable to most Filipinos—the
story of Crispín and Basilio shows the reader the types of
children who would be advantaged by a new, secular school.
Yet the school also reveals the tensions between church and
state as everyone tries to gain control over the project.
The Captain General, who represents the state, supports
Ibarra in the project, while the schoolmaster reveals to Ibarra
how the church has attempted to interfere with education
before. Notably, despite their stated support of the project, the
priests scheme against Ibarra as he works on the project,
illustrating that the school is likely more threatening to them
than they let on.
 Night and Dawn
In his final words, Elías likens the dark time before freedom
and equality come to the Philippines to the night. Some
people, including himself, will die before they can see the
dawn—the utopian time of liberation. Night symbolizes the
time of corruption, chaos, and confusion, while dawn
represents a new, happier time. Just as dawn begins a new
day, Elías hopes that a new era will dawn on the Philippines.
 Cemeteries and Burials
Cemeteries and burials appear often in the novel, most
prominently in the form of Don Rafael Ibarra's lack of a proper final
resting place, which is considered so disgraceful that it pushes
Ibarra to begin to reconsider his easy relationship with the
authorities of the Philippines. People who are without a final
resting place are repeatedly associated with shame, such as the
multiple suicides in the novel, the bandit who is decapitated in
Elías's story, and Lucas, who is implied to have been killed by
Father Salví. At the end of the novel, Sisa and Elías died, and
Elías emphasizes the importance of building them proper burial to
honor them to young Basilio.
 María Clara
Ibarra directly likens María Clara to his nation, the
Philippines, as a whole, and she can be interpreted as an
embodiment of the country. Like the Filipinos in general at the
time, she is typically passive and reluctant to rebel against
the society she was raised in, despite clearly seeing its flaws.
Yet by the end of the novel, María Clara has found the
courage to stand up for herself and resist the plans to marry
her off to a man she doesn't love. This change in her
character can be seen as a change Rizal anticipated in his
people as the Philippines headed towards reform.
Effects of the Noli Me Tangere
 Philippine Revolution
Though José Rizal was not directly involved in the
revolutionary movement, Noli Me Tangere was considered to
be one of the instruments that initiated Filipino nationalism
leading to the 1896 Philippine Revolution. The novel did not
only awaken sleeping Filipino awareness, but also
established the grounds for aspiring to independence. Noli
was originally written in Spanish, so the likelihood that
Spanish authorities would read it first was very high;which is
what Rizal wanted to happen.
Copies of books were redirected to churches, many were
destroyed, many anti-Noli writers came into the picture.
Catholic leaders in the Philippines at the time regarded the
book as heretical, while Spanish colonial authorities declared
it as subversive and against the government. Underground
copies were distributed.
The impact also included the expulsion of Rizal's family in
Calamba, Laguna. Extradition cases were filed against him.
This led to his decision to write the sequel of Noli Me
Tangere, the El Filibusterismo.
EL FILIBUSTERISMO
 Sequel to the Noli Me Tangere
El Filibusterismo is a sequel to Noli Me Tangere. A dark,
brooding, at times satirical novel of revenge, unfulfilled love,
and tragedy, the Fili (as it is popularly referred to) still has as
its protagonist Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra. Thirteen years older,
his idealism and youthful dreams shattered, and taking
advantage of the belief that he died at the end of Noli Me
Tangere, he is disguised as Simoun, an enormously wealthy
and mysterious jeweler who has gained the confidence of the
colony’s governor-general.
Characters
A number of other characters from the Noli reappear, among
them: Basilio, whose mother and younger brother Crispin met
tragic ends; Father Salví, the devious former curate of San
Diego responsible for Crispin’s death, and who had lusted
after Ibarra’s love, María Clara; the idealistic schoolmaster
from San Diego; Captain Tiago, the wealthy widower and
legal father of María Clara; and Doña Victorina de Espadaña
and her Spanish husband, the faux doctor Tiburcio, now
hiding from her with the indio priest Father Florentino at his
remote parish on the Pacific coast.
 Simoun
Crisóstomo Ibarra in disguise, presumed dead at the end of Noli
Me Tángere. Ibarra has returned as the wealthy jeweler Simoun.
His appearance is described as being tanned, having a sparse
beard, long white hair, and large blue-tinted glasses. He was
sometimes crude and confrontational. He was derisively
described by Custodio and Ben-Zayb as an American mulatto or
a British Indian. While presenting as the arrogant elitist on the
outside, he secretly plans a violent revolution in order to avenge
himself for his misfortunes as Crisóstomo Ibarra, as well as
hasten his late friend Elías' revolutionary goals.
 Capitán Tiago
Don Santiago de los Santos. María Clara's father. Having several
landholdings in Pampanga, Binondo, and Laguna, as well as
taking ownership of the Ibarras' vast estate, Tiago still fell into
depression following María's entry into the convent. He alleviated
this by smoking opium, which quickly became an uncontrolled
vice, exacerbated by his association with Padre Írene who
regularly supplied him with the substance. Tiago hired Basilio as a
capista, a servant who given the opportunity to study as part of his
wages; Basilio eventually pursued medicine and became his
caregiver and the manager of his estate. Tiago died of shock upon
hearing of Basilio's arrest and Padre Írene's embellished stories of
violent revolt.
 Basilio
In the events of El fili, he is an aspiring and so far successful physician
on his last year at university and was waiting for his license to be
released upon his graduation. After his mother's death in the Noli, he
applied as a servant in Capitán Tiago's household in exchange for food,
lodging, and being allowed to study. Eventually he took up medicine, and
with Tiago having retired from society, he also became the manager of
Tiago's vast estate. He is a quiet, contemplative man who is more aware
of his immediate duties as a servant, doctor, and member of the student
association than he is of politics or patriotic endeavors. His sweetheart is
Juli, the daughter of Kabesang Tales whose family took him in when he
was a young boy fleeing the Guardia Civil and his deranged mother.
 Isagani
During the events of the novel, Isagani is finishing his studies at
the Ateneo Municipal and is planning to take medicine. A member
of the student association, Isagani is proud and naive, and tends
to put himself on the spot when his ideals are affronted. His
unrestrained idealism and poeticism clash with the more practical
and mundane concerns of his girlfriend, Paulita Gómez. When
Isagani allows himself to be arrested after their association is
outlawed, Paulita leaves him for Juanito Peláez. In his final
mention in the novel, he was bidding goodbye to his landlords, the
Orenda family, to stay with Florentino permanently.
 Paulita Gómez
the girlfriend of Isagani and the niece of Doña Victorina, the
native Filipina who passes herself off as a Spanish mestiza,
who is the wife of the fake doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña. In
the end, Paulita and Isagani parted ways, Paulita believing
she will have no future if she marries him. She eventually
marries Juanito Peláez.
 Juanito Peláez
Isagani's rival for Paulita Gómez's affection. He was the son
of a Timoteo Peláez, a metalworks trader. He was a favorite
of his professors. A regular prankster, he was said to have
developed a hump by playing some trick and then hunching
behind his classmates. He paid his dues to the student
association, but broke away just as easily when the
association was outlawed. Following Isagani's arrest, Paulita
breaks off from Isagani to marry Juanito.
 Father Florentino
Isagani's uncle and a retired priest. Florentino was the son of a
wealthy and influential family in Manila. He entered the priesthood
at the insistence of his mother. As a result he had to break an
affair with a woman he loved, and in despair devoted himself
instead to his parish. When the 1872 Cavite mutiny broke out, he
promptly resigned from the priesthood, fearful of drawing
unwanted attention. An indio (native), Florentino belonged to the
secular clergy (unaffiliated with the Catholic religious orders), yet
his parish drew in huge income. He retired to his family's large
estate along the shores of the Pacific. He is described as
white-haired, with a quiet, serene personality and a strong build.
He did not smoke or drink. He was well respected by his peers,
even by Spanish friars and officials.
 Captain-General (Governor General)

the highest-ranking official in the Philippines during the Spanish

colonial period. The Captain-General in the novel is Simoun's friend
and confidant, and is described as having an insatiable lust for gold.
Simoun met him when he was still a major during the Ten Years' War
in Cuba. He secured the major's friendship and promotion to
Captain-General through bribes. When he was posted in the
Philippines, Simoun used him as a pawn in his own power plays to
drive the country into revolution. The Captain-General was shamed
into not extending his tenure after being rebuked by a high official in
the aftermath of Basilio's imprisonment. This decision to retire would
later on prove to be a crucial element to Simoun's schemes.
 Father Bernardo Salví

a Franciscan friar who served as the former parish priest of

San Diego in Noli Me Tángere, and now the director and
chaplain of the Santa Clara convent. The epilogue of the Noli
implies that Salví regularly rapes María Clara when he is
present at the convent. In El fili, he is described as her
confessor. In spite of reports of Ibarra's death, Salví believes
that he is still alive and lives in constant fear of his revenge.
Father Hernando de la Sibyla – a Dominican introduced in
Noli Me Tángere who now serves as the director and chaplain
of the University of Santo Tomas.
Father Millon – a Dominican who serves as a physics
professor in the University of Santo Tomás.
Quiroga – a Chinese businessman who aspired to be a
consul for China in the Philippines. Simoun coerced Quiroga
into hiding weapons inside the latter's warehouses in
preparation for the revolution.
 Don Custodio

a famous "contractor" who was tasked by the

Captain-General to develop the students association's
proposal for an academy for the teaching of Spanish, but was
then also under pressure from the friars not to compromise
their prerogatives as monopolizers of instruction. Some of the
novel's most scathing criticism is reserved for Custodio, who
is portrayed as an opportunist who married his way into high
society, who regularly criticized favored ideas that did not
come from him, but was ultimately, laughably incompetent in
spite of his scruples.
 Ben-Zayb

A columnist for the Manila Spanish newspaper El Grito de la

Integridad. Ben-Zayb is his pen name and is an anagram of
Ybáñez, an alternate spelling of his last name Ibáñez. His first
name is not mentioned. Ben-Zayb is said to have the looks of
a friar, and believes that in Manila they think because he
thinks. He is deeply patriotic, sometimes to the point of
jingoism. As a journalist, he had no qualms embellishing a
story, conflating and butchering details, turning phrases over
and over, making a mundane story sound better than it
actually was. Father Camorra derisively calls him an
ink-slinger.
 Father Camorra

the parish priest of Tiani. Ben-Zayb's regular foil, he is said to

look like an artilleryman in counterpoint to Ben-Zayb's friar
looks. He stops at nothing to mock and humiliate Ben-Zayb's
liberal pretensions. In his own parish, Camorra has a
reputation for unrestrained lustfulness. He drives Juli into
suicide after attempting to rape her inside the convent. For
his misbehavior he was "detained" in a luxurious riverside
villa just outside Manila.
 Father Irene
Capitán Tiago's spiritual adviser. Along with Don Custodio,
Írene is severely criticized as a representative of priests who
allied themselves with temporal authority for the sake of
power and monetary gain. Known to many as the final
authority who Custodio consults, the student association
sought his support and gifted him with two chestnut-colored
horses, yet he betrayed the students by counseling Custodio
into making them fee collectors in their own school, which
was then to be administered by the Dominicans instead of
being a secular and privately managed institution as the
students envisioned.
Írene secretly but regularly supplies Capitán Tiago with opium
while exhorting Basilio to do his duty. Írene embellished
stories of panic following the outlawing of the student
association Basilio was part of, hastening Capitán Tiago's
death. With Basilio in prison, he then removed Basilio out of
Tiago's last will and testament, ensuring he inherited nothing.
 Placido Penitente
a student of the University of Santo Tomas who had a distaste
for study and would have left school if it were not for his
mother's pleas for him to stay. He clashes with his physics
professor, who then accuses him of being a member of the
student association, whom the friars despise. Following the
confrontation, he meets Simoun at the Quiapo Fair. Seeing
potential in Placido, Simoun takes him along to survey his
preparations for the upcoming revolution. The following
morning Placido has become one of Simoun's committed
followers. He is later seen with the former schoolmaster of
San Diego, who was now Simoun's bomb-maker.
 Kabesang Tales
a former cabeza de barangay of Barrio Sagpang in Tiani. He
was a sugarcane planter who cleared lands he thought
belonged to no one, losing his wife and eldest daughter in the
endeavor. When the Dominicans took over his farm, he
fought to his last money to have it retained in his possession.
While his suit against the Dominicans was ongoing, he was
kidnapped by bandits while he was out patrolling his fields.
Having no money to pay his captors, his daughter Juli was
forced to become a maid in exchange for her mistress paying
his ransom.
When his son Tano was conscripted into the Guardia Civil,
again Tales had no money to pay for Tano's exclusion from
the draft. When in spite of all Tales lost the case, he not only
lost his farm but was also dealt with a heavy fine. He later
joined the bandits and became one of their fiercest
commanders. Tandang Selo, his father, would later on join his
band after the death of Juli.
 Tandang Selo
father of Kabesang Tales and grandfather of Tano and Juli. A
deer hunter and later a broom-maker, he and Tales took in the
young, sick Basilio who was then fleeing from the Guardia
Civil. On Christmas Day, when Juli left to be with her
mistress, Selo suffered some form of stroke that impaired his
ability to speak. After Juli's suicide, Selo left town
permanently, taking with him his hunting spear. He was later
seen with the bandits and was killed in an encounter with the
Guardia Civil – ironically by the gun of the troops'
sharpshooter Tano, his grandson.
 Juli
Juliana de Dios, the girlfriend of Basilio and the youngest
daughter of Kabesang Tales. When Tales was captured by
bandits, Juli petitioned Hermana Penchang to pay for his
ransom. In exchange, she had to work as Penchang's maid.
Basilio ransomed her and bought a house for her family.
During Basilio's prison stint, Juli approached Tiani's curate,
Padre Camorra, for help. When Camorra tried to rape her,
Juli jumped to her death from the church's tower.
 Tano
Kabesang Tales's son, second to Lucia who died in
childhood. He was nicknamed "Carolino" after returning from
Guardia Civil training in the Carolines. His squad was
escorting prisoners through a road that skirted a mountain
when they were ambushed by bandits. In the ensuing battle,
Tano, the squad's sharpshooter, killed a surrendering bandit
from a distance, not knowing it was his own grandfather Selo.
 Hermana Penchang
the one among the "rich folks" of Tiani who lent Juli money to
ransom Kabesang Tales from the bandits. In return, Juli will
serve as her maid until the money was paid off. Penchang is
described as a pious woman who speaks Spanish; however,
her piety was clouded over by the virtues taught by the friars.
While Juli was in her service, she made her work constantly,
refusing to give her time off so she can take care of her
grandfather Selo. Nevertheless, when the rich folks of Tiani
shunned Juli because to support her family in any way might
earn some form of retribution from the friars, Penchang was
the only one who took pity upon her.
 Hermana Báli
Juli's mother-figure and counselor. She accompanied Juli in
her efforts to secure Kabesang Tales' ransom and later on
Basilio's release. Báli was a panguinguera – a gambler – who
once performed religious services in a Manila convent. When
Tales was captured by bandits, it was Báli who suggested to
Juli the idea to borrow money from Tiani's wealthy citizens,
payable when Tales' legal dispute over his farm was won.
The Natures of Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo
Jose Rizal was a pacifist who raised his pen portraying the
social ills in his homeland in hope that it will bring awareness
not only to Filipinos but to the Spaniards as well so they will
join the call for peaceful reform. The negative response of the
Spanish colonial government to the Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo ironically reinforced the novels’ portrayal of the
Philippine society and subsequently inspired the Philippine
Revolution. The execution of Rizal did not help the Spanish
for it further fanned the flames of the revolution.