RIZAL

The Filipinos in this time were unfortunate victims of the evils of an unjust, biased and deteriorating power.

These are:
1. Instability of colonial administration
2. Corrupt Colonial Officials
3. No Philippine Representation in Spanish Cortes
4. Human Rights Denied to Filipinos
5. No Equality Before the Law
6. Maladministration of Justice
7. Racial Discrimination
8. Frailocracy
9. Forced Labor
10. Haciendas Owned by the Friars
11. The Guardia Civil

The instability of Spanish politics since the turbulent reign of King Ferdinand VII (1808-1833) marked the beginning of
political chaos in Spain.
This political instability in Spain adversely affected Philippine affairs because it brought about frequent periodic shifts in
colonial policies and periodic rigodon of colonial officials.
1835 to 1897: 50 Governor-Generals each serving an average term of only one year and three months.

Corrupt Colonial Officials

Spaniards arrogantly regarded the brown skinned Filipinos as inferior beings.
Spanish Penal Code, which was enforced in the Philippines, particularly imposed heavier penalties on Native Filipinos or
mestizos and lighter penalties on white-complexioned Spaniards.

During Rizal’s times the Spanish friars belonging to different religious orders were the richest landlords, for they owned
the best haciendas (agricultural lands) in the Philippines.
The courts of justice in the Philippines during Rizal’s time were notoriously corrupt.
Justice was costly, partial and slow.
Wealth, social prestige and color of skin were preponderant factors in winning a case in court.
The judicial procedure was so slow and clumsy that it was easy to have justice delayed.

Haciendas Owned by the Friars

Racial Discrimination

Admiral Jose Malcampo (1874-77)

> was a good Moro fighter, but was an inept and weak administrator
Known as polo.
Compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish colonial authorities on adult Filipino males in the construction of churches,
schools, hospitals, building and repair of roads and bridges, building of ships and other public works.
To win the support of her overseas colonies during the Napoleonic invasion, Spain granted them representation in the
Cortes (Spanish parliament).
Accordingly, the Philippines experienced her first period of representation in the Cortes from 1810 to 1813.

General Valeriano Weyler (1888-91)

> A cruel and corrupt governor general of Hispanic-German ancestry, arrived in Manila a poor man and returned to
Spain millionaire.
Guardia Civil

Human Rights Denied to Filipinos

No Equality Before The Law
Filipinos as inferior beings who were infinitely undeserving of the rights and privileges that the white Spaniards enjoyed.
Spaniards called the brown-skinned and flat-nosed Filipinos “Indios” (Indians), in retaliation, the Filipinos dubbed their
pale-complexioned detractors with the disparaging term “bangus” (milkfish).
Had rendered meritorious services in suppressing the bandits in the provinces, they later became infamous for their
rampant abuses, such as maltreating innocent people, looting their carabaos, chickens and valuable belongings and
raping women.
Rizal himself witnessed the discrimination of how the guardia civil (either Filipino or insulares) treated the Filipinos.

Gen. Rafael de Izquierdo (1871-1873)

> a boastful and ruthless governor general who ordered the execution of Father Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and
Jacinto Zamora.

Ventura de los Reyes- The first Philippine delegate who took active part in the framing of the Constitution 1812.

- Another achievement was the abolition of the Galleon Trade.

Since the adoption of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and other constitutions in succeeding years, the people of Spain
enjoyed freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of association, and other human rights (except freedom of
religion).
The Spanish authorities who cherished these human rights in Spain denied them to the Filipinos in Asia.

General Fernando Primo de Rivera (1880-83 and 1897-98)

> Governor General for two terms enriched himself by accepting bribes from gambling casinos in Manila which he
scandalously permitted to operate.
Frailocracy

The Philippines of Rizal's Time (19th Century)

They were either highly corrupt, incompetent, cruel or venal.

Philippine Representation in Spanish Cortes

General Camilo de Polavieja (1896-97)

> An able militarist but heartless governor general, was widely detested by the Filipino people for executing Dr. Rizal.

King Ferdinand VII

1800

Maladministration of Justice
Forced Labor
Instability of Colonial Administration
1900
The friars (Augustinians, Dominicans and Franciscans) controlled the religious and educational life of the Philippines, and
later in the 19th century they came to acquire tremendous political power, influence and riches.
Almost every town in the archipelago, except in Islamic Mindanao and Sulu and in Pagan hinterlands, was ruled by a friar
curate.
ASIAN LIT

LITERARY APPROACHES
1. Formalistic
 having mainly to do with structural purposes of a particular text.
 refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent features of a text. These features
include not only grammar and syntax but also literary devices such as meter and tropes. The formalistic
approach reduces the importance of a text’s historical, biographical, and cultural context.
2. Biographical Criticism
 This approach “begins with the simple but central insight that literature is written by actual people and that
understanding an author’s life can help readers more thoroughly comprehend the work.” Hence, it often affords
a practical method by which readers can better understand a text.
3. Historical Criticism
 This approach “seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context
that produced it—a context that necessarily includes the artist’s biography and milieu.” A key goal for historical
critics is to understand the effect of a literary work upon its original readers.
4. Feministic
 Identifying with female characters: By examining the way female characters are defined, critics challenge the
male-centered outlook of authors. Feminist literary criticism suggests that women in literature have been
historically presented as objects seen from a male perspective.

 Reevaluating literature and the world in which literature is read: By revisiting the classic literature, the critic
can question whether society has predominantly valued male authors and their literary works because it has
valued males more than females.

5. Psychological Criticism
 This approach reflects the effect that modern psychology has had upon both literature and literary criticism.
 Psychological criticism has a number of approaches, but in general, it usually employs one (or more) of three
approaches:

o An investigation of “the creative process of the artist: what is the nature of literary genius and how does
it relate to normal mental functions?”
o The psychological study of a particular artist, usually noting how an author’s biographical circumstances
affect or influence their motivations and/or behavior.
o The analysis of fictional characters using the language and methods of psychology.

6. Sociological Criticism

 This approach “examines literature in the cultural, economic and political context in which it is written or
received,” exploring the relationships between the artist and society.
 One influential type of sociological criticism is Marxist criticism, which focuses on the economic and political
elements of art, often emphasizing the ideological content of literature

7. Mythological Criticism

 This approach emphasizes “the recurrent universal patterns underlying most literary works.”
 One key concept in mythlogical criticism is the archetype, “a symbol, character, situation, or image that evokes a
deep universal response,” which entered literary criticism from Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.
8. Reader-Response Criticism

 This approach takes as a fundamental tenet that “literature” exists not as an artifact upon a printed page but as
a transaction between the physical text and the mind of a reader. It attempts “to describe what happens in the
reader’s mind while interpreting a text” and reflects that reading, like writing, is a creative process

9. Deconstructionist Criticism:

 This approach “rejects the traditional assumption that language can accurately represent reality.”
 Deconstructionist critics regard language as a fundamentally unstable medium—the words “tree” or “dog,” for
instance, undoubtedly conjure up different mental images for different people—and therefore, because
literature is made up of words, literature possesses no fixed, single meaning.

ELEMENTS OF PROSE

1. Plot- The sequence of incidents or events through which an author constructs a story.  *The plot is not merely the
action itself, but the way the author arranges the action toward a specific end (structure).
Important elements of Plot: *Conflict- A clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills
Types of Conflict:  Person vs. Person, Person vs. Environment, Person vs. Self.
*Protagonist- The central character in a conflict
*Antagonist- Any force arranged against the protagonist- whether persons, things, conventions of society, or the
protagonists own personality traits.
*Suspense- The quality in a story that makes readers ask “what’s going to happen next?”.  In more literary forms of
fiction the suspense involves more “why” than “what”. Usually produced through two devices; either mystery (an
unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation) or dilemma (a position in which a character
must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable.)

2. Characterization

 Characters are presented in two different ways- directly and indirectly.

 •Direct Presentation- The reader is told straight out what the character is like.
 •Indirect Presentation- The author shows the character through their actions; the reader determines what the
character is like by what they say or do.
 •Dramatization- Characters are shown speaking and behaving, as in a play.

Types of Characte

* Flat Characters- Usually have one or two predominant traits.  The character can be summed up in just a few lines.

*Round Characters- Complex and many faceted; have the qualities of real people. 
* Stock Characters- A type of flat character.  The type of character that appears so often in fiction the reader recognizes
them right away.
*Static Character-  A character that remains essentially the same throughout.

Theme

 The theme of a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the unifying generalization about life
stated or implied by the story.
 While theme is central to a story, it is not the whole purpose.  The function of a literary writer is not to state a theme
by to  show and describe  it.
 Theme does not equal “moral”, “lesson”, or “message”.
Setting.

The setting of a story is its overall context- where, when and in what circumstances the action occurs.

 Setting as Place- The physical environment where the story takes place. The description of the environment
often points towards its importance.
 Setting as Time-  Includes time in all of its dimensions.  To determine the importance, ask, “what was going on at
that time?”
 Setting as Cultural Context-  Setting also involves the social circumstances of the time and place.  Consider
historical events and social and political issues of the time.

Point of View.
-Point of View is simply who is telling the story

Omniscient POV- The story is told in third person by a narrator who has unlimited knowledge of events and characters.
Third Person Limited POV- The story is told in third person but from the view point of a character in the story.  POV is
limited to the character’s perceptions and shows no direct knowledge of what other characters are thinking, feeling, or
doing.
 First Person POV- The author disappears into one of the characters.  Shares the limitations of third person limited.  Uses
the pronouns “I” and “we”.
Second Person POV-  Uses the pronoun “you”.  Infrequently used. 

Style.

•Style is the manner in which an author uses words, constructs sentences, incorporates non-literal expressions, and
handles rhythm, timing, and tone

*Diction- Central to an author’s style.  Includes:

  1. Vocabulary- Choice of words

  a. Simple words- Everyday word choice. (“She was sick for a long       time.)
  b.  Complex words
  c.  Concrete words- Things we can touch, see, etc. (Jeans, book,..)
  d.  Abstract words-  Words that express intangible ideas (freedom,heritage, something)

2. Syntax- arrangement of words, their ordering, grouping and placement within phrases, clauses, and sentences.
3. Rhythm- The pattern of flow and movement created by the choice of words and the arrangement of phrases and
sentences.  Rhythm is directly affected by the length and composition of sentences, the use of pauses within sentences,
the use of repetition, and the ease or difficulty in pronouncing the combinations of word sounds in the sentences.

Elements of Poetry

POETRY- has an overall central theme or idea within each poem

Images - the mental pictures the poet creates through language

Diction - the selection of specific words

Form - the arrangement of words, lines, verses, rhymes, and other features.

Cadence - A rhythmic change in the inflection of sounds from words being spoken. Sometimes referred to the flow of
words.
Couplet - two lines of verse that rhyme at the end and are thought as one unit

Meter - A rhythm that continuously repeats a single basic pattern.

Rhyme - Words that end with similar sounds. Usually at the end of a line of the poem.

Rhyming - Two lines of a poem together with the same rhythm

Rhythm - A pattern created with sounds: hard - soft, long - short, bouncy, quiet - loud, weak - strong .

Stanza - A part of a poem with similar rhythm and rhyme that will usually repeat later in the poem.

Verse - A line of a poem, or a group of lines within a long poem.

There are two divisions of literature: prose and poetry.

Prose is writing that resembles everyday speech. The word prose is derived from the Latin prosa which literally
means straightforward. Prose is adopted for the discussion of facts and topical reading and does not adhere to
any particular formal structures other than simple grammar.

Poetry is any writing in verse form. The word poetry is derived from the Greek poiesis which literally means
creating or creating. Poetry relies heavily on imagery, precise word choice and figures and speech.

We may differentiate prose from poetry according to the following points of comparison:

POINT OF
PROSE POETRY
COMPARISON
Form Paragraph Verse
Words and rhythms of ordinary Metrical, rhythmical, figurative
Language
and everyday language language
Appeal Intellect Emotions
Convince, Inform, Instruct Stirs the readers imagination, present
Aim an ideal of how life should be and how
life can be

Types of Literature

An autobiography is the story of a person's life written or told by that person.

A biography is the story of a person's life written or told by another person.

A fable is a story that teaches a moral or a lesson. It often has animal characters.

Fantasy novels are often set in worlds much different from our own and usually include magic, sorcery and
mythical creature.
A folktale is a story that has been passed down, usually orally, within a culture. It may be based on superstition
and feature supernatural characters. Folktales include fairy tales, tall tales, trickster tales and other stories
passed down over generations.

A legend is a story that has been handed down over generations and is believed to be based on history, though it
typically mixes fact and fiction. The hero of a legend is usually a human.

A myth is a traditional story that a particular culture or group once accepted as sacred and true. It may center on
a god or supernatural being and explain how something came to be, such as lightning or music or the world
itself.

Science fiction stories examine how science and technology affect the world. The books often involve fantasy
inventions that may be reality in the future.