Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not)

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1887

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-6

Chapters 7-12

Chapters 13-18

Chapters 19-24

Chapters 25-30

Chapters 31-36

Chapters 37-42

Chapters 43-48

Chapters 49-54

Chapters 55-60

Chapters 61-63

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Tiago’s Artwork

Tiago’s artwork, specifically the oil self-portrait that hangs on his wall, is described as “[...] stiff, straight, and as symmetrical as the tasseled mace he holds in his stiff, ring-covered fingers. The portrait seems to say, “So, look how well dressed and dignified I am!”” (7). José Rizal uses this portrait to illustrate the upper class’s politics—traditional and conservative. It is not experimental and by extension, not progressive. The story that the painting tells is of a straightforward man. Through his narrator, Rizal positions himself as a critic of the upper class, his very novel an antithesis to Tiago’s linear, shallow art.

Cancer

The novel’s title—Noli Me Tángere—refers to a specific type of facial cancer. As a symbol, cancer is a disease of the spirit, something akin to vice. The wealthy use vice—gambling, cockfighting, and opium abuse—as a means to exploit the lower class. Cancer also symbolizes the system of governance that allows oppression of the Indigenous population. By extension, it symbolizes the hypocrisy of the friars who use people’s faith against them. In all instances, trust and societal values erode and are replaced with skepticism and hostility.

How History is Recorded

When major events take place, such as Ibarra’s attack on Father Dámaso, the narrator reveals how objective truth can be distorted by gossip and rumors. Since there are many viewpoints in the novel, the narrator often turns to an anonymous news correspondent. As a figure of authority, the correspondent is supposed to provide an unbiased account of events—but when authority stems from those in power, the truth can easily become corrupted. When the subversives’ uprising is put down by the civil guard, the news credits Father Salví with uncovering the plot. However, the reader knows that Salví orchestrated much of the attack. Therefore, the narrator’s account of the uprising conflicts with that of the press. The official version of the truth ultimately depends on who is in power.