El Filibusterismo confusion
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
Calgary, Alberta
April 26, 2011 1:10pm CST
To some foreign readers of this discussion ,El Filibusterismo is a novel very relevant in Philippine culture and history, in fact every Junior Highschool students in the Philippines are required to study this novel. Its a sequel of the Novel Noli Me Tangere which is the Novel every Sophomore Highschool student in the Philippines must study.
I am just being Nostalgic.....
I remember my Teacher Filipino said that Crisostomo Ibarra is inspired of Dr. Jose Rizal himself, he is a symbolism of the writer himself, But we all know in El Filibusterismo he is turned intot he evil character Simon. Simon is very manipulative, calculating and more of an anti-Hero. Does this Novel mean Rizal have a darkside in him he is showing through this novel. I mean Simoun kinda have some corrupted nature going on, As i try to read this novel again... Simoun is kinda a little bit evil.
2 people like this
8 responses
@topffer (42155)
• France
26 Apr 11
I downloaded it at Gutenberg and began to read it on my old Lifedrive. It is really a great book, written in a very good Spanish, by an author who was knowing perfectly the two cultures -- European and Philippines -- ; I don't know if it has been done yet, but I think there is not only an influence of classic Spanish writers, but also an influence of the French writers of the Commune who were also persecuted and killed after 1871. I think at people like Jules Vallès who fled in Belgium and England after the Commune.
By the way, in what language are you reading it -- I am reading it in Spanish : it was my first foreign language at school -- ?
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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Apr 11
at school i read it in tagalog but lately I re-read it in English, Its Tagalog translation uses too much obscure Filipino terms I dont understant so I read it English, I think its published in Spanish,English, Tagalog and Flemish. Rizal spent his College days in Europe and he speaks 22 languages ( English,Spanish, French,Japanese, Catalan,German,Hebrew and many more) Many people are wondering why a surgeon and Novelist who is an international Playboy (there is a rumor he dated Hitler's mom) became a national hero but his novels are worth reading...
Before reading El Filibusterismo, you should read Noli Metangere first because its a sequel.
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@topffer (42155)
• France
26 Apr 11
There is also a French translation, done quite recently -- 1984 --. He is a great intellectual, and some writers played also a political role -- it was a case of Victor Hugo here, who fled from France during the Second Empire -- ; he has a small public park in Paris.
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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Apr 11
have you read the novel already? I do know though this novel have a fan club in Belgium which is weird since this novel have no fan club in the Philippines, its supposed to be a trilogy but the author is punished by firing squad before he get to finish the last part of the trilogy, Rizal stayed in paris in a certain point of his life and the hotel where he checked in is still there. Its a brassiere shop now I think.
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@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
29 Apr 11
Well El Fili is an end result of what might and will happen if all peaceful means are exhausted and nothing happens with regards to a cause if I may speak in General terms, who knows what Rizal as personified by Ibarra might had turned into if he were not shot in Bagumbayan, after all peaceful means would had been exhausted including patriots who wrote " La Solaridad". Frustration would give way to personalities like Bonifacio and Aguinaldo, who opted for a bloody revolution, perhaps no one would really knows if Rizal would had turned to a Simoun.
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
31 May 11
I think I saw that documentary and I do remember that picture where he smiles in a really not so whole some way. The fact that he have dated multiple women from different ethnicities really makes him an international playboy.
@xtedaxcvg (3189)
• Philippines
28 Apr 11
I really can't remember El Fili nor Noli me Tangere. I just remember breezing past those subjects when we discussed them back in high school. I guess the reason is because I'm not that big a fan of history subjects. Don't get me wrong though, I admire Jose Rizal's passion and respect him as our National Hero.
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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
29 Apr 11
I liked it though, I wanna be a badass genius like rizal who can talk 22 language and were able to have girlfriends all over the world. 
@LetranKnight25 (33117)
• Philippines
27 Apr 11
Hello Albert,
I have read those novels and were forced to study them and it felt sad knowing that these people are actually lived in the times of suffering and too much hate and pain. there's never a scene where a spanish would consider respecting us.
some of them were nothing more than hypocrites, like the priest proclaiming the word of god while they act lustfully in sin as they rape women and abuse children and so as many people
I think Simoun is a charactered as a frustrated person who wants one thing: REVENGE.
some of them were nothing more than hypocrites, like the priest proclaiming the word of god while they act lustfully in sin as they rape women and abuse children and so as many people
I think Simoun is a charactered as a frustrated person who wants one thing: REVENGE. 1 person likes this
@mspitot (3824)
• Philippines
30 May 11
I love Noile Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo when I was in high school. I don't think Simon's character in El Fili means that Rizal has a dark side in him. Simon represents the problem of the society. The trauma and the bad things happened to him and his family was like a virus that turned him into like that. It serves as the awakening part for the Filipinos that they (our ancestors) should be aware that they were being abused in their own land. It is like saying that don't be stupid to let them abuse you.
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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
31 May 11
I only think Simon as his dark side just because that character is formerly known as Ibarra is the symbolism of himself. Those Simon is evil, it's really easy to understand why he became that way because of all the things he had been through in life. But in a way Simon shows some one who fights back against those people who oppress him and ruined his life.Weird as it may sound he reminds me off of a Batman villain because he is a victim and that turns into a predator.
@lady1993 (27221)
• Philippines
29 Apr 11
Well, El Filibusterismo isn't really that much of a love story not like noli me tang ere-- it's more on revenge..which is understandable knowing the things the Spaniards did to Crisostomo and his family. ANd Simoun isn't that bad too..They are just both victims of the cruelty of Spaniards. THey are truly good people- deep inside..And we kind of see that towards the end of the book. 
ANd Simoun isn't that bad too..They are just both victims of the cruelty of Spaniards. THey are truly good people- deep inside..And we kind of see that towards the end of the book. 1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
30 Apr 11
what a letdown, your teacher is a spoiler, What i didn't understand with Simoun is he tried to kill some of the good characters too. Who would have thought Shades is already invented in Rizal's era. Simoun also killed a priest if my memory serves me right.
What i didn't understand with Simoun is he tried to kill some of the good characters too. Who would have thought Shades is already invented in Rizal's era. Simoun also killed a priest if my memory serves me right.
@eileenleyva (27555)
• Philippines
26 Apr 11
My recollection of the two stories are a bit hazy now. But when we read the books, we have to let each stand on its own. Ibarra is quite a character in the Noli. And Simon in the Fili seems to be anti-hero kind of protagonist.
The novels are so fierce because we are subjected to the nitty gritty details that were supposed to symbolize Rizal's wake up call for his countrymen to fight for freedom. But read the novel as they are, you would enjoy a natural human experience.
I loved these two books when I was read them in high school. Jose Rizal brought my imagination and sense to new heights.
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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Apr 11
I just re-read the novels but in English because I cant understand some of the obsolete tagalog and spanish words. I enjoyed reading it now since there is no more pressure of exams and quizzes, Reading it as a reader not as a student who wants to pass The Filipino subject makes your eyes open. Some of the social cancers of the stories are still visible in the current society.
@moirai (2948)
• Philippines
26 Apr 11
Ok. Now I really need to read those novels again. =P
I'm just wondering... am I too old? I remember Noli was required for 3rd year and Fili for 4th year. What did you read in 4th year if you read these two in 2nd and 3rd year? If I remember correctly, we had Florante at Laura in 2nd year, and Banaag at Sikat in 1st year...
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@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Apr 11
oops my bad,I'm only human..LOL , Now my memory gets clear, Ibong Adarna in freshman, Florente at Laura in sophomore, Noli me Tangere in Junior and El Filibusterismo in senior. Thanks for correcting my mistakes. May sound wrid but Ibong Adarna is not an original Filipino tale. there is a rumor its Danish by origin.
