The Noli Me Tangere can be regarded s a historical novel, as it has mostly fictional characters and

historical persons. Rizal's description of the lavish fiesta showed the comic antics at church and the
ridiculous expense for one day of festivities.

Noli me tangere literally translated, the Latin words "noli me tangere"means, "touch me not".
Taken from John 20:17 when Mary Magdalene holds on to Jesus and he tells her not to touch him. John
20:17 Jesus said to her: "Stop cling to me. For I have not yet ascended to the Father. But be on your way
to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and to your Father and to my God and
your God.'

Theme as an element of fiction is the idea that runs through the whole novel, repeated again and
again in various forms and way. The theme of Noli me Tangere comes from the Gospel of John. The Noli
me Tangere is a similar theme of longing and unfulfillment. There is no more tragic love and of course no
greater love than the two beings unable to reach each other, since such love eternally remains
unblemished. It persistently unmasks contemporary Spaniards in the Philippines of every kind. Rizal
exposes corruption and brutality of the civil guards which drive good men to crime and banditry. He
focuses on an administration crawling with self-seekers, out to make their fortune at the expense of the
Filipinos, so that the few officials who are honest and sincere are unable to overcome the treacherous
workings of the system, and their efforts to help the country often end up in frustration or in self-ruin.
Noli me TAngere exposé of corrupt friars who have made the Catholic religion an instrument for
enriching and perpetuating themselves in power by seeking to mire ignorant Filipinos in fanaticism and
superstition. Instead of teaching Filipinos true Catholicism, they control the government by opposing all
progress and persecuting members of the ilustrado unless they make themselves their servile flatterers.

Rizal does not, however, spare his fellow countrymen. The superstitious and hypocritical
fanaticism of many who consider themselves religious people; the ignorance, corruption, and brutality of
the Filipino civil guards; the passion for gambling unchecked by the thought of duty and responsibility;
the servility of the wealthy Filipino towards rirs and government officials; the ridiculous efforts of
Filipinos to dissociate themselves from their fellowmen or to lord it over them--all these are ridiculed
and disclosed.

Rizal nevertheless balances the national portrait by highlighting the virtues and good qualities
of his unspoiled countryman: the modesty and devotion of the Filipina, the unstinting hospitality of the
Filipino family, the devotion of parents to their children and children to their parents, the deep sense of
gratitude, and the solid common sense of untutored peasant. Iy calls on the Filipino to recover his self-
confidence, to appreciate his own worth, to return to the heritage of his ancestors, and to assert himself
as the equal of the Spaniard. It insists on the need of education, of dedication to the country, and of
absorbing aspects of foreign cultures that would enhance the native traditions.

Rizal creates other memorable characters whose lives manifest the poisonous effects of
religious and colonial oppression. Capitan Tiago; the social climber Doña Victorina Espadaña and her
toothless Spanish husband., the Guardia Civil head and his harridan wife; the sorority of devout women;
the disaffected peasants forced to become outlaws; in sum, a microcosm of Philippine society. In the
afflictions that plague them, Rizl paints a harrowing picture of his beloved but suffering country in a work
that speaks eloquently not just to Filipinos but to all who have endured or witnessed oppression.