Noli Me Tangere Synopsis and Characters PDF

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Synopsis and characters of Noli Me Tangere....

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SSC107N (The Life and Works of Rizal) Anonat, Stacey Anne C. (BEED1) Noli Me Tangere Synopsis and Characters

I.

SYNOPSIS Crisostomo Ibarra is a young Filipino who was sent to Europe by his father to study. After 7 years of studying and living in Europe, he came back to the Philippines. Because of his homecoming or arrival, Captain Tiago offered a banquet banquet which was attended by Padre Damaso, Lieutenant Guevarra, Donya Victorina and other high-ranking people, in the Spanish society. At the banquet dinner, the former priest of San Diego, Padre Damaso, humiliated Crisostomo Ibarra, but Crisostomo ignored the humiliation and bid his goodbye pretending that he has an important walk. Ibarra is Maria Clara’s lover. She was known as the stepchild of Captain Tiago, a wealthy businessman who lives in the mountain. The next day, Crisostomo visited Maria Clara and while they are being affectionate, they suddenly recall their memories and love since childhood. Maria Clara did not forget to re-read Crisostomo’s letters that he has given even before he studied in Europe. Before Ibarra went to San Diego, Lieutenant Gueverra of the civil guard confessed to him about the death of his father Don Rafael, the wealthy landlord in their town. According to Lieutenant Guevarra, Don Rafael was accused by Padre Damaso of being a heretic and filibuster for not attending the church and confessing his sins. There is also another incident that further aggravated the allegation. There was once a tax collector who fought with a young student, Don Rafael saw the situation and helped the child, the collector got angry at him and they both fought with each other. Unfortunately, the Spanish tax collector’s head hit a rock that killed him in an instant. They blamed Son, Rafael for the death of the tax collector, he was prosecuted, and his secret enemies came out and they filed him various charges. He was imprisoned and as the matter was about to be resolved the Don Rafael fell ill and died while he was still in prison. Padre Damaso was still not satisfied with the incident. He then ordered the undertaker to dig up Don Rafael's body in its grave in the Catholic cemetery and bury it in the Chinese cemetery. Since it was raining back then and the weight of the body was heavy, the undertaker decided to just throw Don Rafael’s dead body in the lake. Crisostomo Ibarra did not plan to take revenge for the wrongdoings that Padre Damaso did to his father. Instead, he decided to continue the plan of his father which is to build a school. In the celebration of the laying of the first stone, Ibarra would have been almost killed if Elias had not saved him. It was not Crisostomo Ibarra who was killed in the incident but the person who was paid for by the Ibarra’s secret enemy. At the lunch offered by Ibarra, after the blessing, Padre Damaso humiliated him again. He would have ignored it but when

Padre Damaso despised the memory of his late father he could not stop his self and tried to stab the priest, thankfully Maria Clara was there to stop the feud and prevent Ibarra to stab Padre Damaso. Because of the incident, Ibarra was removed or excommunicated by the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic church. Padre Damaso took advantage of the situation to order Captain Tiago to break the marriage agreement between Ibarra and Maria Clara. Padre Damaso wanted Maria Clara to marry Linares, a young Spaniard who had just arrived in the Philippines. Frightened by the collapse of the rocks on the day of the festival, Maria Clara became ill and deteriorated. Because of the medicine sent by Ibarra, which Sinang gave him to drink, the girl recovered immediately. With the help of the captain general, Ibarra's excommunication was annulled, and the archbishop decided to accept him again in the Catholic church. Coincidentally when the people being persecuted attacked the barracks of the civil, they accused Ibarra as a perpetrator, so he was arrested and imprisoned. Ibarra really had nothing to do with the situation. He talked to Elias and asked him if he can lead those who are persecuted, Elias explicitly refused and said he could never lead those people who are representing the town. The charges against Ibarra were dropped because at the trial, no one could say that he was an accomplice in the riot that took place. But the letter that he gave to Maria Clara that got into the hands of the court was used as an evidence against him and to be in danger. Captain Tiago held a banquet at his house to celebrate and to announce the marriage agreement between Maria Clara and Linares. While it was taking place, Crisostomo Ibarra escaped from prison with the help of Elias. Before finally fleeing, Ibarra had the opportunity to talk secretly with Maria Clara. He said that he had given her freedom and that he hope that Maria Clara will be happy and at peace. Maria Clara explained to Crisostomo that the letter she kept and was used in the court had been obtained from her through threats and intimidation. These letters were replaced by two letters written by her mother before she was born that Padre Salvi obtained from the convent and there it is stated that his real father was Padre Damaso. Maria Clara told Ibarra that she would marry Linares to protect her mother's honor but her love for him would never change. Meanwhile, Ibarra fled with the help of Elias. They boarded a boat, laid Ibarra down and covered him with grass and then followed the Pasig river until they reached Lake Bay. But their pursuers overtook them. Elias thought of misleading them, so he thought of jumping into the water where the civil guards thought that barra had jumped so the civilians chased and shot him until the trace of swimming was separated and the water turned into blood. Maria Clara came to know that Ibarra had been killed by the civilians on his escape. The girl was sad and hopeless, so she asked his father Padre Damaso to enter the convent of Santa Clara to become a nun. Padre Damaso was forced to agree because he made sure that Maria Clara said that she would commit suicide if Padre Damaso won’t agree for her to become a nun. It was Noche Buena when Elias arrives in the legendary forest of the Ibarras, wounded and weakening,

there he met Basilio and his dead mother. before he lost his breath he said that he died without seeing the dawn of his town and to see so as not to forget those who died defending the town.

II.

CHARACTERS Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin (Ibarra) A wealthy young mestizo who has just returned to the Philippines after seven years of studying in Europe, Ibarra is sophisticated, highly esteemed, and very idealistic. María Clara A woman of high social standing, she is thought to be the daughter of Capitan Tiago and goddaughter of Father Dámaso. She is the biological daughter of Father Dámaso, the product of a scandalous relationship between the old priest and Capitan Tiago’s wife. Father Dámaso Father Dámaso is an old, power-hungry, and shamelessly corrupt Spanish priest who has lived among the native Filipinos for nearly two decades. Elías A mysterious character, Elías is a man on the run from the law who resents both the Spanish colonial government and the Catholic Church, despite his strong religious convictions. Father Salví A younger, more cunning Spanish priest who assumes control over Father Damaso’s post as friar curate of San Diego. Captain Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos) Capitan Tiago is a rarity in that he is a wealthy Filipino who is native-born. He keeps close ties with high-ranking members of the Catholic Church, despite having no respect for religion, and shamelessly joins in others' racist insults against his own people. The Ensign The nameless head of the Civil Guard of the township of San Diego. A man of Spanish descent, he is in a constant bitter feud with Father Salví to gain power in the town.

Doña Consolación The pugnacious wife of The Ensign, Doña Consolación is an older Filipina woman who is ashamed of her heritage and pretends to be unable to speak Tagalog, her own native language. Don Rafael Ibarra Crisóstomo Ibarra’s father is posthumously mentioned in the novel. A critic of the corrupt practices of the Spanish friars, he earns the ire of the vitriolic Father Dámaso, who accuses him of sedition and heresy. Crispín A young boy studying to be a church caretaker, Crispín and his brother Basilio work ceaselessly to send support money to their beleaguered mother, Sisa. Basilio Basilio is Crispín's older brother. Like his younger brother, he works as a sexton. Basilio makes a desperate run for their home the night Crispín is dragged away and attempts to locate his younger brother the day after, but his search efforts are fruitless. Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña A fraud and a hustler, the Spaniard who calls himself Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña was a customs officer who was dismissed from his post shortly after arriving in the Philippines. La Doctora Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña A brazen and determined Filipina social climber, Doña Victorina is the spouse of the counterfeit doctor, Tiburcio de Espadaña. Lt. Guevara A morally upright man of Spanish descent who holds both Crisóstomo Ibarra and the late Don Rafael in high esteem, he is also the lieutenant of the Civil Guard. Linares Dr. de Espadaña’s nephew, a respectable young Spanish man. Like his uncle, he has forged credentials and hopes to climb through the social ranks. The Schoolmaster

A teacher that Don Rafael housed, thus allowing him to suitably attend to the task of instructing students; he informs Crisóstomo Ibarra of the sorry state of education of San Diego since the passing of his father. Don Filipo (Filipo Lino) Don Filipo Lino is a representative of the younger, less religiously shackled generation of movers and shakers in San Diego, and he also serves as the vice mayor of the town. The Mayor Nothing more than a marionette of the Catholic priesthood, the unnamed mayor of San Diego is very conservative and bows down to the religious officials of the town. The Yellow Man An assassin tasked to kill the younger Ibarra, his plot to murder the young man is thwarted by the cunning Elias. He is given this moniker for his permanently sallow, jaundiced complexion. Sisa The long-suffering mother of sextons-in-training Crispin and Basilio, she goes mad upon the loss of her sons. Impoverished and married to a violent drunkard, she is allied only with her sons. Father Sibyla A priest serving in the Binondo district in the city of Manila, Father Sibyla serves as a foil to the otherwise largely corrupt Father Dámaso and the perverse Father Salví as he is rational and calm. Aunt Isabel A cousin of Capitan Tiago who raised Maria Clara as her own child after her mother’s untimely death. Old Tasio (Don Anastasio) An old man who previously studied philosophy and is believed to be crazy by most of the community. He respects Ibarra and gives him valuable advice, and also helped Ibarra's father before him....