REACTION PAPER

march 7. 2013

“Pahimakas ni Donya Teodora”

With the outburst of ordeals and misfortunes, which Jose Rizal has faced, with the prejudiced eye of the conqueror, even before his downfall, a loving mother was already dying inside to see his child in such agony. If only she could switch places with him, she would. If only she could hide him away from the world to keep him safe, she would willingly take the risk. Nevertheless, she cannot.

In the stage play “Pahimakas ni Donya Teodora,” a kind of interminable love in a mother’s perspective was shown all throughout. The play simply put on view on what it is like to be the mother of Jose Rizal. At some point in the play, Donya Teodora recalled a story that she had told Pepe way back his childhood days, which is about an impish young firefly who desired to go near a flame, despite the admonitions of an older firefly. In the end, the firefly loses its wings and cannot be able to fly again. She related this story to his son, as Rizal tried to reach the flame, which will eventually take away his life. Rizal exposed through his writings Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo the Church’s deep dark clandestine and The Spanish government maltreating the Filipinos, which made the friars to accuse Rizal of being heretic and filibuster. As said in the stage play, Rizal’s intellect had become his sole weapon in making primitive Filipinos fight for the cancer of society, though the expense for this was his own family’s safety. One part of that play that got me goose flesh was when Donya Teodora said that Rizal’s intelligence had become his way to loss of life, which turned out to be true. It could be recalled that this fear has been occurring to Donya Teodora several times when Pepe was still young, when she realized that his son was far from ordinary.

Nevertheless, what can a mournful mother do over an unresponsive cadaver? Nothing. All she can do is accept what happened and move on. For a fact, life doesn’t stop there. It is true that Rizal’s efforts and boundless love for the country had cost him and his family a miserable ending, but because of that, Filipinos achieved freedom. We all should be thankful for Pepe. If it wasn’t because of his hard-headedness, he wouldn’t go and study abroad and realize what his mother country had been missing since time immemorial. Rizal’s death had become the salvation of Filipinos from the evil conquerors and autonomy in their own country.

But if there is someone whom we should be thanking for, it should be Donya Teodora, because if wasn’t for her genuine love and guidance, Rizal wouldn’t be the man that he is now since then.

“Ang Huling Pahina”

Have you ever think if characters of a particular story liked the parts they play? What if characters of that story had their own chances to speak out and tell their creator what they wanted to happen, what do you think will they impart?

These questions has been the main point of view of the second stage play entitled “Huling Pahina” by three of the most unsightly and repulsive characters in Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere who are Kapitan Tiyago, Donya Victorina and Donya Consolacion. If you still remember, Kapitan Tiyago was Maria Clara’s wealthy stepfather and whose neck was tied by the Roman Church, specifically by the friars. On the hand, Donya Victorina was a Filipino who is trying to conceal her identity and make everybody believe that she is one of the Europeans in the Philippines. Lastly, came the role of Donya Consolacion, who is according to the story, always smells like lady fingers (okra) and has an awful breath. These three characters met at the last page of the novel and trying to put out of sight with each other the purpose on why they are there. However, it is revealed somewhere in the middle part that they do have a common goal, to ask the creator as to why their characters end up the way they ended up. Alongside of the story, the three of them had been picturing of the endings they want for themselves. Until only it was then, the role of Tasyo came up and told the 3 that their characters cannot be changed. What is done is done. They ended up the way they should end.

Funny thing about these characters are that curiosity as to whom these characters Rizal was referring? These characters should know that the roles they are taking part are eye openers to the cancer of society that we should be fighting for. In my point of view, the characters end up they way they should be. Yes they may seem funny and unworthy in the novel, but without them, realizations about what is happening in reality would be a total blur.