"How You Can Quickly And Easily Get Higher Grades In El Filibusterismo"

Dear Fellow Student,

If you're struggling with Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo, if you're running out of time, if you wish you could have more fun with your friends and still get better grades in school, then read on...

Sixteen years after graduating from high school, a middle-aged Filipino dad opened Soledad Locsin's translation of El Filibusterismo and happily discovered that Rizal is SOME writer. After hunting down links to related webpages, he wondered why he didn't appreciate the El Fili during his high school days.

Perhaps it was because of the...

» Smudgy text on newsprint

» Hard-to-read Tagalog

» Time wasted thumbing through Tagalog - English dictionaries

» Hours of reading and then not fully getting the sense of the chapters


But today, there's no pressure for him to get high grades. Heck, he already has a day-job and a wonderful family.

So...

...he can now take the time to savor the writings of Rizal. And with that privilege comes the ability to write down short chapter summaries so that you can get today what took him sixteen years to achieve:

* A better understanding of the El Fili!
* More time to enjoy the company of your school friends!
* Less time studying!
* Higher chances of getting better grades!
* A deeper appreciation of Philippine culture!
* Understand the symbolisms and lessons conveyed in Chapter 7: Simoun!

Message to Students

First of all, this is not meant to replace Jose Rizal's novel. It would be better if you actually read El Filibusterismo. Yes, I know it's hard to pore over muddy-looking Pilipino text on dark newsprint, but please persevere (hah!). To help you with your El Fili studies, I will attempt to summarize each chapter...in English. Shame on me, I know. But hey, I will make no pretensions about my [in]ability to write well in Filipino. Anyway, good luck with school!

About the Novel

"El Filibusterismo (Subversion) is the second novel by Jose Rizal, national hero of the Philippines. Written as a sequel to the Noli Me Tangere, it was begun after the author returned to Europe in 1888, was published in Ghent in 1891, then shipped Hong Kong, where many copies were confiscated by authorities who by then had realized the impact of Rizal's writings on his people. It was serialized in El nuevo regimen in Madrid in 1891, and later translated into English, German, French, Japanese, Tagalog, Ilonggo and other foreign and local languages.

"To this translation, Soledad Lacson-Locsin has restored the original dedication "Al Pueblo Filipino y su Gobierno" which was not in the printed edition, in order to heighten the change she saw from the softer emotions of the Noli to the anger and passion of the Fili.

From the inside front flap of Noli Me Tangere, translated by Ma. Soledad Lacson-Locsin, edited by Raul L. Locsin, Bookmark, 1996. Cover art by Felix Mago Miguel.

Have fun!

Kind regards,
Manuel Viloria
"A Filipino Family on the Web"
http://www.viloria.com

P.S. There's no guarantee that what you read will instantly boost your grades. Afterall, I have no idea what your abilities are. Then again, you'll never know unless you try these chapter summaries and study guides, right?