Critiques and

Comments on El
Filibusterismo
{ By New York Times, The Nation and a scholarly
review from Goodreads
 "This portrayal of Filipino life gives permanent
interest to these books. The characters are taken
from every branch of society, including the
Spaniard of noble ideals and the native of
barbarous instincts. We are not sure that
psychologically these people are very deeply or
acutely drawn; but their exteriors at least are
real and vivacious. If we do not carry away
from among them any lasting friendships, we
do gain a picture of life in the Philippines that
is varied and complete."
 "The author's shafts of attack are directed
especially against the friars. He is unhesitating
in his exposure, however, of whatever he
believes to be evil in Philippine society. His
style is clear, ironic, sometimes picturesque.
(...)The Reign of Greedis written with more
political force and less charm, and is almost
without incident."
 Using Thomas C. Foster'sHow to Read Novels Like a
Professor,let me go over each of the 18 yardsticks in
analyzing a novel and compareNoliandFili:

1.Style.The opening scene in Noli, the grand welcome party

in Capitan Tiago's house mirrors the condition of the country
right away. On the other hand, the upper and lower decks in
M/V Tabo shows the marked difference between the social
strata in the country particularly the Spaniards (peninsulares,
insulares, mestizos) and the lowlyindios.As per as the
manner of writing, i.e., long or short, simple or complex,
sentences, rushed or leisurely pacing, they are the same.

K.D. SAYS: Tie

SCORE: 0-0

K.D. Absolutely (Goodreads)

 2.Tone.Noliis social whileFiliis
political.Nolistill has a heart because it has
this passionate love story between Ibarra and
Maria Clara. Fili is mostly about revenge and
debates which mean it has more brain than
heart. So, this depends in the reader's
preference. I thought that I enjoyedNolimore.

K.D. SAYS:NolioverFili
SCORE: 1-0

K.D. Absolutely
 3.Mood.Noliis confused yet still hopeful. Angst
is still underneath.Filiis altogether hatred from
page 1 until the last chapter except in the last
scene. There are more scenes inNoliwhere I was
mesmerized by Rizal's use of beautiful prose
putting natural color on his settings. There are
still some inFilibut they were overshadowed by
the strong hatred emotions from the characters.

K.D. SAYS:NolioverFili
SCORE: 2-0

K.D. Absolutely
 4.Diction.Rizal used his characters to express his
thoughts. There are these debates or long
conversations that while reading, you will get the
feeling that Rizal is discussing his views with you. In
Noli, there are only 2: Ibarra and Pilisopo Tasyo is
one and the debate about the town fiesta as the
other.Filion the other hand, has a lot more: Isagani
vs Ginoong Pasta, Macaraig vs Don Cammaro, the
friars and government officials in Los Banos, Placido
Penitente vs his professor, Isagani vs Padre
Fernandez and even the last scene with Simon and
Padre Florentino. Wonderful debates.

K.D. SAYS:FilioverNoli
SCORE: 2-1

K.D. Absolutely
 5.Point of View.Both employ an
omniscient narrator but there is a part
inFiliwhen Rizal used stream-of-
consciousness. This is the part when
Simoun heard about the death of Maria
Clara. What an effective way of expressing
Rizal's sadness and I could not help but
wonder if this was how he felt when Leonor
Rivera got married to a foreigner.

K.D. SAYS:FilioverNoli
SCORE: 2-2

K.D. Absolutely
 6.Narrative Presence.The attitude of the
omniscient narrator is more accommodating
and patient inFilirather than inNoli.For
example, in the Noche Buena scene inNoli, the
narrator used the reader's sympathy over the
limping Basilio chasing the crazy Sisa and he
forgot to describe the setting. InFiliwith
Basilio after 13 years, I was in awe reading the
beautiful description of the forest while Basilio
was remembering the first Noche Buena.

K.D. SAYS:FilioverNoli
SCORE: 2-3

K.D. Absolutely
 7.Narrative Attitude.Despite those
beautiful descriptions of the settings
inFili,it is more direct and straightforward.
Although the message is sometimes diluted
by the many options presented, Rizal was
able to tie the loose ends in the very last
chapter during the whole-day conversation
between Simoun and Padre Florentino.
Also, the dialogues are more brutal like in
the scene with the talking head or sphinx.

K.D. SAYS:FilioverNoli
SCORE: 2-4

K.D. Absolutely
 8.Time Frame.Nolistarts with Ibarra's homecoming
after staying in Europe for 7 years.Filistarts with
Simoun's appearance after disappearing as Ibarra after
13 years. Ibarra is hopeful that he will be able to bring
change by putting up a school with his love for his
country as the reason. He was able to learn this from his
trips abroad including his stay in Spain. However, the 13
years in Cuba was, for me, not enough for Simoun to
gather all those treasures that he claimed to have even
come from Marie Antoinette and the pyramids in Egypt.
It just sounded not too plausible.

K.D. SAYS:NolioverFili
SCORE: 3-4

K.D. Absolutely
 9.Time Management.Nolistarts at the end of
October to December 24 (Christmas Eve).Filion
Christmas Eve to after Holy Week or after the school
year. Less than 2 months for Rizal to tell the tale of a
small town of San Diego but he needed more than
that to tell the events in the city. I thought he used
his time frames quite well in both.

K.D. SAYS: Tie

SCORE: Still at 3-4

K.D. Absolutely
 10.Place.If Calamba were the basis for San Diego, the
Binondo and San Diego locations inNoliseems to be more
realistic. The Laguna de Bay-Manila-Pasig River-Tiyani-
Binondo then finally to a provincial place with a plateau
and the plateau is right in front of a deep sea is just a bit of
a stretch. How could the weak and wounded Simoun
travel to a far-flung provincial place of Padre Florentino?
Some say that the basis of this place was Atimonan,
Quezon and it is a 4-hour drive from Manila. But for a
horse-drawn carriage during the Spanish times? And
Simoun was still able to confess to the priest for 1 whole
day!

K.D. SAYS:NolioverFili
SCORE: 4-4
 11.Motif.The letters are the recurring images
inNoliand there was not a single letter inFili.Rather,
inFilithe recurring images are the treasures and the
lights. The letters inNolidenotes secrecy or inner
ghosts. They signify the hidden emotional turmoil of
Rizal and the Filipinos. The treasures inFilimeans
evilnot all the glitters are goldand the lights, e.g., the
stars that were in the sky guiding Basilio, the lights
reflected on the surface of Laguna de Bay and the
lamplight that could have killed all the rich and
famous in Manila, signify hope. Rizal was really
wonderful in using his motifs.

K.D. SAYS: Tie

SCORE: Still at 4-4
 12.Theme.Overall,Noliis positive: hope,
love, beautiful memories, parties, town
fiesta, picnic by the riverbank,
groundbreaking for a school, many books,
knowledge, etc. On the other hand,
againoverall,Filiis negative: hate, revenge,
death, rape in the open, persecution,
students leaving the university, scary stage
shows, protests, son killing his own kin, etc.

K.D. SAYS:NolioverFili
SCORE: 5-4
 13.Irony.Since there is no prevailing emotion
inNoli,the use of irony in that novel is more effective.
Who would forget the Christmas Eve when Basilio was
chasing Sisa, his lunatic mother? There were also scenes
inFiliwhen this was nicely used like when Simoun
went to the house of Kabesang Tales and lured him to
commit rebellion by showing him the treasures.
However, we already knew Simoun's intent even at the
onset so it was not as effective as those last scene
inNoli.The one of Carolino and Tandang Selo was anti-
climatic in my opinion.

K.D. SAYS:NolioverFili
SCORE: 6-4
 14.Rythmn.Narrative rhythm is greatly influence by
the theme in these two books. I enjoyed the
deployment of words better inNolifor example the
old-fashioned butkiligdialogues between Ibarra and
Maria Clara when they were in the azotea. The many
long debates inFiliwere at times so convoluted that
they tend to go around in circles (not to mention non-
sense characters mouthing nonsense statements) that
there are parts when they were boring and pointless.

K.D. SAYS:NolioverFili
SCORE: 7-4
 15.Pace.I thought that this was won byFiliby a mile.
The novel is fast-paced and full of events.Noliis laid
back and only peaked up in the last three chapters.
No wonder some of my GR-Filipino friends who don't
normally read classics find it too wordy if not boring.

K.D. SAYS:FilioverNoli
SCORE: 7-5
 16.Expectations.Again,Filiby a mile. I first
readFiliin school and I knew all along that the lamp
would not explode. However, due to Rizal's buildup
of the plot towards thatdespedidaparty, I still hoped
that my memory was incorrect. I was hoping that the
lamp would kill all those shenigans. As opposed to
almost climax-less plot ofNoliwhere there is nothing
like that big event. When Ibarra and Elias are being
chased in the lake, I felt I would like Elias to survive.

K.D. SAYS:FilioverNoli
SCORE: 7-6
 17.Characters.Hands down,Nolirules. There are far
more memorable characters there than the new ones
introduced inFili.Even the characters they shared
like Ibarra/Simoun, Basilio, Padre Salvi, Donya
Victorina and the teacher/firecracker worker are more
memorable inNoli.For one, the young Basilio is more
sympathetic than the nervous indecisive young man.

K.D. SAYS:NolioverFili
SCORE: 8-6
 18.Page 1.Even if the setting in the first page ofNoliis
more memorable because of the regalia and the detailed
description of the house, I thought that the use of the
upper deck-lower deck inFiliis more direct and more
intense. Rizal seemed to be surer of what he would like to
tell even on the very first page of the book. The transition
fromNolitoFiliwas not even jarring because of the
recurring characters even after 13 years have passed. I
thought Rizal's use of his first page was more effective
inFili.

K.D. SAYS:FilioverNoli
SCORE: 8-7

So, it isNolioverFiliby 1 point.