El Filibusterismo

Chapter 12 introduces Plácido Penitente, a student whose name translates to “Calm” and “Repentant”—and whose short arc addresses the Philippine education system. The character’s name captures the sentiments of many Philippine students. The students are forced into obedience and made to feel ashamed about their family’s sacrifices for their education—a system designed more so to remind them of their place in society than to teach them. They’re humiliated by their professors, who wish to reinforce their “superiority” in education, race, and status. These abuses provoke shame and anger. In Chapter 13, Plácido represents students’ repressed desire to revolt against the system. This desire is reinforced by the fact that Simoun enlists a former Filipino teacher (who lost his job because he voiced a need for a school building) to be his bomb maker.

One way in which Plácido’s professor humiliates his students is by questioning them about the text despite his lack of real teaching. It takes determination to commit a text to memory, but when a student attempts to answer a question to the best of his ability, the professor uses syllogisms, Latin, and the Socratic method to confuse him. Alongside Plácido’s short arc is a diatribe against the education system. In the opening paragraphs of Chapter 13, the classroom itself is described: The students learn physics (memorize passages from a textbook) in a bare room which lacks scientific equipment. While there is a laboratory on campus, it’s off-limits to Filipino students, as it’s only used to show foreigners and high-level officials from Spain that the university is equipped. The university’s lack of care is an indictment against the friars, who clearly want to keep Filipino students ignorant so as to better subjugate them.

Chapter 14 introduces a diverse student body. Makaraig represents the privileged few of the Filipino population who’ve been able to amass enough wealth to give them certain societal privileges. Makaraig’s family doesn’t sacrifice much to send him to school, unlike Plácido’s situation. In fact, later in the novel, Makaraig is able to simply leave the Philippines and continue his studies in Europe. Aside from the juxtaposition of poor and wealthy Filipino students, the Spanish student Sandoval is introduced. He represents those of the Spanish population who sympathize with the Philippines. Though he could have remained in Spain, or remained aloof to his fellow students’ plight, he joins the students in their petition for reform—particularly the establishment of a Castilian Academy. Still, Sandoval is able to criticize the system from a position of relative safety, whereas Filipino students may have to fight for their lives. The novel thus illustrates the need for both Filipino and Spanish youth to work together to better understand each other and achieve equal treatment.

Chapter 15 illustrates how difficult it is to unite the Filipino population in societal reform, let alone recruit Spanish allies. Señor Pasta and Isagani are two people in similar situations, but with antithetical perspectives. Like Basilio, Señor Pasta endured the system’s abuses and through luck and willpower, was able to create a comfortable niche for himself. His advice to Isagani is to do what he did—use the system to his advantage without worrying about others. Because Rizal was a fan of author Alexandre Dumas, the reader can connect Isagani and Señor Pasta’s dynamic to the motto of the Three Musketeers—all for one and one for all. Isagani embodies this motto, while Señor Pasta only believes in all for one (only serving oneself). This dynamic is one of the novel’s greatest indictments against the Filipino population, namely their inability to unite under a cause that would benefit them all.