by: Kristine Valerie Dela Cruz
“Do not go gentle into that gentle into that good night.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
This is an excerpt from Dylan Thomas’s best-known poem, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night. Originally this poem pertains to an old man’s struggle with death. However, I will use this text alongside with Dr. Jose Rizal’s El Filibusterismo to further elaborate the underlying issue and the historical or political context of the book.
The second novel of Rizal’s criticism and gripping tale of the Filipino struggle to regain freedom and individuality and end the Spanish Rule. This classic is dedicated to the memory of GomBurZa and everything that they had rightfully stood and fought for. In comparison to Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo is written in a darker light, with all the bitterness and hatred that can be felt from Rizal’s protagonist Simoun. We can conclude that something has changed in Rizal, maybe fueled by the execution of the three martyred priests, because the changes reflected by his second novel aggressively suggests that he is provoking his fellow countrymen to not turn a blind eye to the tyrannical rule of the Spanish Government.
The execution of GomBurZa had a ripple effect on many people at that time. Perhaps, if it is safe to say, that their death sentence was enough message for the people, most especially the youth, to form and take part on nationalist movements. On Emilio Jacinto’s “Gomez, Burgos, at Zamora” (April 30, 1896) as explained by Jim Richardson: “Their compatriots would honor their memory and would seek to emulate their pursuit of truth and justice. As yet, Jacinto acknowledges, some were not fully ready to embrace those ideals, either because they failed to appreciate the need for solidarity and unity or because their minds were still clouded by the smoke of a mendacious Church. But those who could no longer tolerate oppression were now looking forward to a different way of life, to a splendid new dawn.” That was the start of what could be an awakening of national consciousness.
On the other hand, on Rizal’s letter to Mariano Ponce on 18th of April 1889, he penned, “At the sight of those injustices and cruelties, though still a child, my imagination awoke, and I swore to dedicate myself to avenge one day so many victims. With this idea I have gone on studying, and this can be read in all my works and writings. God will grant me one day to fulfill my promise.” And he indeed fulfilled that promise. Rizal’s patriotism and passion to serve his countrymen is evident on his works and by the life he has lived as a Filipino. Personally, I think Dr. Rizal’s silent revolution is his fervent wanting for a reformation. He was always vocal about his distaste and disapproval for a revolution because he believed that violence should not prevail. However, some say that as much as this was Rizal’s appealing trait, it was also his weakness because he failed to understand his fellow Filipino especially those below him. He underestimated the people who believed in the power of revolution to overthrow the unwelcomed foreigners. It is admirable that Rizal was the leading opponent against the revolution because it shows that he values Education the most. If people are educated, there is no room for manipulation, deception, or any other forms of oppression.
In the spirit of Filipino resistance and protest, his works still resonates today. El Filibusterismo, alongside Noli Me Tangere, are important literary pieces that every Filipino should read and study. It is crucial and urgent to provide oneself the important historical and political facts of the past to sustain our Independence as a country. With all these knowledge present to us, we may be able to push for political changes and establish institutions that solely serves and supports the people. El Filibusterismo teaches us that our government should always be for the interest of the Filipino people. Not for anyone or any country, but for the Filipinos alone. This book poses a challenge for every young Filipinos out there on how we could emulate the ideals and progressive stance that is shown to us by the characters of Ibarra, Pilosopo Tasyo, Elias, Isagana, and Basilio.
Simoun’s Lamp is the novel’s ultimate metaphor for all the outrage, cry for injustices, oppression, bitterness, and abuses. The light that the lamp brings is supposed to be the new light, the new dawn that will ignite the fire of a new nation. However, Isagani threw it before a deadly event takes place, and Simoun dies in the end – a death that tells us that even with the ominous and revengeful theme of the novel, Dr. Rizal does not support the idea of an armed revolution. Violent methods, no matter how good the intention is, will always result to an evil end.
Do not go gentle into that good night. Obviously, good night is a metaphorical expression for death. As depicted in the novel, Rizal’s characters fought and was not suppressed as they fought for their rights and freedom. In Noli Me Tangere, Elias final words before succumbing to death were, “I die without seeing dawn’s light shining on my country…You, who will see it, welcome it for me…don’t forget those who fell during the nighttime.” Elias and Simoun did not go gentle into that good night as they fought back and resisted to oppressive forces.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. The death of our motherland is not a possible option. Our ancestors at that time felt the need to break free from the chains wrapped around their necks by the Spanish abuses, and so they rage and rave to keep the life of this soil alive. This is Rizal’s Silent Revolution. This is Rizal’s resistance. Rage, rage against the dying of the light – fight, resist, reform. Para sa bayan. Para sa mga Pilipino.
Sources: http://malacanang.gov.ph/7695-the-martyrdom-of-the-gomburza/
https://manilatoday.net/the-martyrdom-of-gomburza-needs-to-be-celebrated/
RESILIENCE 