Rizal

Our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal was one of the Filipinos during his time who asked for reforms. With this reforms, Filipinos will be given the rights that they deserve. According to my lecture in History classes, Jose Rizal choose to seek for reforms than to start a revolution because he knew that the Philippines was not yet ready to stand for its own. In a study about him, his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo served as Rizal's means for asking reforms. In these novels, it portrays what was happening in the Philippines during the Colonization of the Spaniards. I think the reason why Rizal does not support the revolution is because he believed that this will not make the Philippines a better country. To the Flowers of Heidelberg is one example of Rizal's work that shows his reformism. In the report that was conducted in our class earlier last week, the "tagline" of this poem is "Transformation". In the report, the reporters clearly stated how it shows Rizal as a reformist. Like, there is an interpretation of it that Rizal requests the flowers of Heidelberg to speak of him in the Philippines. Although Rizal was not in the Philippines during that time, he beautifully asked the flowers to bear witness to his undying concern for his motherland. There is a part of the poem where it mentioned the times of day starting from dawn and the break of sunlight. The reporters stated that when Rizal is at dawn, he sings to the flowers native songs in exchange of their gift of natural perfume. And in the morning under the soft light of the early sun, he reflects still of his motherland where the same sun now is at its highest, as if he is concerned with his motherland through the sun. The poem poetically describes his plan for the flowers to carry his message to his motherland. He plucks then and preserves them in a book. In the poem, the reporters also stated the messages of Rizal through the poem. His first message to his country is peace, virtue to women, and courage to men. Although Rizal was well known and respected in Germany and France(these are where he was during that time), in my own perspective, it shows negativity. I asked, what good will this do to the Philippines if he is serving a foreign land and not the Philippines? The poem symbolizes two realities. First, the flowers they said symbolizes his love for his motherland. The beauty of the flowers is comparable to the way he looks to his motherland. Second, the flowers reduced quality refers to Rizal's useless presence in another country. In Noli me Tangere, Jose Rizal reveals what was happening to the Philippines by simply writing the novel. The novel is a reflection of what the Filipinos were going through during that time. He wrote it to open the eyes of the Filipinos to the reality that they were being oppressed by the Spaniards. With this act, Rizal shows reformism. It was done through the use pen and paper and not the other way around (sword and shield?). Through pen and paper, it helped the Filipinos to open their eyes to revolt against the Spaniards. Today, the works of Rizal are being studied. But I asked, are these significant? How does these poems/works are significance to us. Well for me, the works of Rizal being a reformist is a big impact in our history. It helped us know what Rizal whether he is in our country or not. He is doing his best to let us know what are the state of our country during his time. He made us realized that pen and paper is more powerful than a sword. Which is true, when you publish something, it is written and it may last forever. I think, it will be helpful for us to be a reformist than a revolutionist. Reformists are the one who argued that capitalism had reached a stage which it was no longer necessary to call for revolution, but enough reforms could be put into place. With reformism, the Philippines could have more democratic rights and more social welfare programs, that would help socialism evolve over time. I believe that through the works of Rizal as a reformist, it may gain confidence in helping others to open their eyes on what is happening in their surroundings.