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Plot Summary of Noli Me Tangere

The plot summary describes the key events and characters in Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal. It introduces Crisostomo Ibarra who returns to the Philippines from Europe to visit his fiancée, María-Clara. However, Father Dámaso opposes their marriage and seeks to drive them apart after Ibarra learns that Dámaso had his father imprisoned and corpse desecrated. Ibarra builds a school but the friars see it as a threat. Dámaso provokes Ibarra into attacking him and has him excommunicated, breaking off the engagement. Elías, a friend of Ibarra's from a revolutionary group, warns him of plots on

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KARL KURSTEN LIM
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187 views2 pages

Plot Summary of Noli Me Tangere

The plot summary describes the key events and characters in Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal. It introduces Crisostomo Ibarra who returns to the Philippines from Europe to visit his fiancée, María-Clara. However, Father Dámaso opposes their marriage and seeks to drive them apart after Ibarra learns that Dámaso had his father imprisoned and corpse desecrated. Ibarra builds a school but the friars see it as a threat. Dámaso provokes Ibarra into attacking him and has him excommunicated, breaking off the engagement. Elías, a friend of Ibarra's from a revolutionary group, warns him of plots on

Uploaded by

KARL KURSTEN LIM
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PLOT SUMMARY OF NOLI ME TANGERE

Noli Me Tángere begins at a dinner party hosted by Captain Don Santiago (Tiago),
a wealthy resident of Manila. Guests assembled at the party include other
members of the upper class as well as friars of both the Dominican and Franciscan
orders. During dinner, Don Crisóstomo Ibarra arrives—the party being his first stop
post-returning from Europe. He is there to visit his fiancée María-Clara, Santiago’s
daughter. However, the celebratory atmosphere soon turns tense as one of the
friars, Father Dámaso, becomes angry at Ibarra’s arrival. After the party, Ibarra
learns that his father, Don Rafael, died while in prison and Father Dámaso had his
corpse exhumed and removed from the Christian cemetery (i.e., dumped into a
river). The dramatic tension between Ibarra and Dámaso forms the central
conflict.

As Ibarra reacclimates himself to his homeland, he looks to apply his progressive


ideals to make life better for the citizens of San Diego. After meeting with a school
teacher, Ibarra’s first act is to build a school. While he gains support from the local
government, the religious order within the town views the project with suspicion.
They begin to see Ibarra as a threat to their power—with Dámaso in particular
seeing him as a rival who must be put in his place.

Ibarra and María-Clara’s relationship dates back to childhood. However, Dámaso is


the godfather of María-Clara and opposes the marriage. He wishes to drive the
two apart and eventually achieves. He arrives uninvited to a dinner party hosted
by Ibarra and dishonors the memory of his late father, which baits the latter into
retaliation. Ibarra physically attacks Dámaso, holding him at knife point and
threatening to kill him. María-Clara intervenes and prevents Ibarra from
completing the deed, but the damage is done. As punishment for the assault,
Ibarra is excommunicated and thus, the couple’s engagement is annulled.

The Captain General, the King’s representative in the Philippines, intercedes on


Ibarra’s behalf. Once again, Dámaso and his colleague Father Salví are disgruntled
and see the Captain General’s respect for Ibarra as a threat to their power. Salví’s
role in the novel becomes more prominent after this incident, as he works on a
scheme to take down Ibarra once and for all.

Ibarra befriends Elías, a fellow Filipino who is involved with a subversive group
planning an uprising. Because Elías is knowledgeable of the town’s underground,
he is able to warn Ibarra of the attempts to have him framed and killed. Their
friendship is unusual as they are not of the same class, but they have mutual
respect for each other—and this respect enables them to strengthen their
alliance.

Through no fault of his own, Ibarra’s life is turned upside down by the same forces
that claimed the life of his father. As the novel comes to a close, the progress that
Ibarra advocated for is put on hold. However, Dámaso suffers a private defeat as
María-Clara holds a secret against him, one that would destroy his reputation in
town. Dámaso is eventually moved out of San Diego and with him out of the way,
the possibility of reform is made more possible than ever.

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