A Hero of Thought

What you could learn from the writings of a Man of thoughts, a Hero.

           Countless natives of our nation’s pitiful history suffered under the hands of the Spaniards: of their hierarchic discrimination, unjust restrictions, bias laws, inappropriate system, and of their abusive intents. They pushed Filipinos to their limits and brutally forced them to bow down before the colonizers. This eventually led Filipinos deprived of justice and of freedom. Given the fact that we were miserable during the Spanish regime; an extraordinary hero went the extra mile and awakened nationalism among us. Yes, our national hero, Jose Rizal, became the proponent and advocate of freedom and justice during his time. He evoked his fellowmen to pursue the path towards change and progress. Rizal was the catalyst that sparked the minds of our ancestors to fight for our nation. All of this was done by emphasizing the idea of “rebellion” and “patriotism” on his works and writings, particularly on his books “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo”. Rizal did significant contributions for the Philippine society, reforms, and systems of government. The novels were dedicated to his countrymen who forborne the mistreatment of the subjugators and to citizens who were trapped and blinded from the long been unspoken truth. Rizal used his characters on the novels as his “tongue” to connect and communicate to the public, to reach their hands as of to whisper secrets of the foul and devious deeds of the Spaniards. Through the representation of his used persona, he spoke out his mind and expressed his ideas. He was not only reflected by his main character “Ibarra” but by all of his utilized persona in the novels, from the “Dons and Doñas” to the humble “Indios”. Each collaborated on building the theme and the message of the novels. Inside his books, he wrote and printed the state of our nation and how our ancestors dealt with it for a long time, page by page. The passages contained profound thoughts, furnished with nationalistic and patriotic words that effectively pounded the hearts of Filipinos to fight back.

                   The characters dramatized each kind of individual during the colonial periods. “Ibarra” built the gist of the story. Being a famous, rich but a well-grounded young man, he struggled vengeance for the poor and miserable people victimized by the abusive Spaniards. Then, there was “Elias” who lived a difficult life of being haunted by the laws of the Spanish system. They were both against the conquerors of our beloved nation. There was also the strange type, “Pilosopong Tasio”, who was a very distinct character, which implied the straight truth about the startling issues of the country. As well as the “Dons and Doñas” who exhibited the wrong mentality of overthrowing the laws, rights and dignity of subordinates through wealth and power. Also, who could forgot about the friars who meddled with the political affairs of the government, affecting the reputation of the sacred church. Finally the family of Sisa, depicted the typical family during the old times, a family composed of different faces of the painful fate they were engaged with.

       

          Amongst all of the characters of the novels, one humble boy captured my attention. He marked huge impacts on the eyes of readers even though he had only a little of the focus on Rizal’s books. He represented the qualities that must be possessed by the youth. His first part of the story revolved on the fate of a juvenile who already had the responsibilities of an adult hanged on his shoulders. He must watch for his brother while working as a sacristan and a servant of the church in exchange for the hope that someday he may learn how to read and write. On an early age, this young boy faced and overcame hardships, tragedies, obstacles and disdains of the harsh and unforgiving life. He is also brave, even braver than his brother, courageous and mettlesome boy, proven and evident on every word he says, every decision he makes and every action he executes. He is a loving and caring brother to his sibling, a good son to his mother, a helpful and thoughtful boy to his family except for his heartless and mean father who did nothing but to drink, to gamble and to do all sorts of vices. Problems came that made him cause his own downfall. His brother died from the brutal punishments of the church, blaming and accusing him as a thief. His father never changed his long been awful habits. His mother unable to bear the grief of losing her sons, the merciful sorrows and the horrible attitude of her husband, she blasted out of the reality and escaped into madness. His heart shattered when he lost her mother and brother. He moved on eventually and continued his life head up high. He pursued his studies with a little financial help which he repaid by working as a servant. He had all the love he can have from his girl, Juli. He was repeatedly asked to join the alliance of Simoun to fight the Spaniards but he had his principles over him and refused several times. Things went his way, until he was imprisoned and his lover died under the hands of the colonizers. His rage exploded. He realized this has got to end, enough is enough. He joined Simoun’s alliance and collaborated to enforce their scheme. Unfortunately, the plot failed and ended their mischievous plan. “You can never straighten up a foul with another foul”.

         Unbelievable he maybe, I was stunned on his life challenging story. Unlike mine, he suffered a lot more of life’s disdains. From there, I’ve realized how hard to live without freedom, democracy and justice. I felt very fortunate, for my life is unlike of his. I learned so much on the things I can’t even put into words. I am now challenging myself to pursue my dreams, take risks with courage. A life, amazing of its twists and turns is a life to live truly. Indeed a magnificent journey.

       A life of a student is very distant from what the depicted character endured for a long time. But one cannot remove the fact that our nation is fast changing and fast falling for the second time. Who knows, this might happen again to anyone of us. We must reinforce the good traits he exhibited and avoid what he did wrong. He is the best paragon of the youth. He showed how to be responsible, strong, patient, flexible and tough through thick and thin. He knows when to fight back, to defend himself. To stop is not on his vocabulary, he continues to strive for his goals no matter how hard it is. When stuck on faith defying and heart shattering events, be gumptious like him. Love, care and protect your love ones so they may not end up like his. Be as kindhearted as him, willing to help and reach to his fellowmen on his full might. He also stood for what is right and what is just while evidently following his principles, beliefs and his heart. Follow the steps he showed on attaining his dreams: pursue, work hard, stand strong and achieve. Like him, let us possess the availability to be better youth, better individual and a worthy citizen.

Author's Note

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Reviews

[SeventhSin]

This is amazing! Iam seriously at a loss for words for this story because it was so good :) Please keep up this great work!