Comparison: Noli Me Tangere vs. El Filibusterismo

Comparison of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo

	Noli Me Tangere	El Filibusterismo
Meaning	“Touch Me Not” - refers to John 20:17 in the bible as Mary Magdalene tried to touch the newly risen Jesus, He said “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.”	“The Filibuster” - known by its English alternate title “The Reign of Greed”
Description	Resurgence in though long dead. Work of the heart. Book of feeling. It has freshness, color, humor, lightness, wit, soft-spoken, patient, compassionate and idealistic. Romantic novel.	Pain of society today. Work of the mind. Book of thought. It has bitterness, hatred, pain, violence, sorrow and vengeful side. Political novel.
Publication	First edition was published in 1884 in Berlin, Germany by Maximo Viola.	First published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium by Valentin Ventura.
Dedication	Dedicated to the country.	Dedicated to GOMBURZA.
Setting	19th century Philippines during the latter years of the country as Spain’s only colony in Asia.	Set in the Philippines. It is about a wealthy Cuban jeweler who goes to the Philippines in an attempt to work for the governor-general, but he is planning to start a revolution against the authorities.
Characters	Chrisostomo Ibarra, Maria Clara, Elias, Padre Damaso, Kapitan Tiago, et al.	Simoun, Basilio, Isagani, Kabesang Tales, Paulitang Gomez, Macaraig, Father Florentino, Juanito Perez, Doña Victorina
Plot	Dramatically showcases the persecution of a socialite in the Philippines by religious hypocrisy and corruption. Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin, has returned to the Philippines from abroad. He is at first surrounded by good friends, a beautiful fiancée and a supportive upper class, but a priest with a vendetta against Ibarra’s late father torments him.	The hero of El Filibusterismo is a rich jeweler named Simoun. He was Crisostomo Ibarra of Noli Me Tangere who with the help of Elias, escaped from the pursuing soldiers at Laguna de Bay, dug up his buried treasure, and fled to Cuba where he became rich and befriended many Spanish officials. After many years, he returned to the Philippines, where he freely moved around. He is a powerful figure not only being a rich jeweler but also a good friend and adviser of the governor general.