Chapters 50-54 of Noli Me Tangere describe Elias's backstory of suffering discrimination and the downfall of his family over generations. Ibarra listens as Elias recounts his story. The chapters also show plans for rebellion being discovered, with Elias revealing to Ibarra that he has been falsely accused. Elias seeks vengeance against Ibarra's family, unaware of their true connection. Symbols of Philippine culture and society, as well as the oppression of the Spanish, emerge through the characters.

1. NOLI ME TANGERE
CHAPTERS 50-54

2. CHAPTER 50 ELIAS STORY
• Ibarra stepped into Elias’s boat
• Elias narrates his story and the unfortunate lives of his ancestors
• 60 years had passed
• Elias's great-grandfather worked as a bookkeeper
• A fire broke out in the workhouse,
• Elias was left alone to wander the streets as a hunted man.

3. MAIN CHARACTER
Elias
-Kung walang kalayaan ay walang liwanag
• This phrase means that if we don't make a move or join in any
revolutions we cannot achieve the true essence of freedom and
we will be living in a place where we cannot do the things we
want. If we don't have this freedom we will remain in the dark
and will not be able to achieve the better future we are
dreaming of.

4. CHAPTER 51 EXCHANGES
• Doña Victorina writes to Linares
• She wants Linares to challenge the alperes to a duel
• If he does not do so, Dona Victorina would reveal the truth about him.
• As Ibarra appears, he talks to Sinang
• He secretly asks Sinang to find a way for him to talk with Maria Clara
privately.
• Sinang told him that Maria Clara wants Ibarra to forget her.
• The secret partnership with her father in putting up an oil mill from the
coconut groves in Los Baños

5. RIZAL’S LESSON THROUGH VICTORINA
Embrace our country’s flaws, using different strategies, towards
progress and growth, helping your country instead of giving up on
it.

6. CHAPTER 52 THE CARD OF THE DEAD
AND THE SHADOWS
• Three shadowy figures were in a discussion that night.
• One said Elias will join them since Ibarra had saved his life. Another said Ibarra
had saved his wife and he joined the group to settle some old scores with the
curate.
• Later in the night the Alferez had even offered three months flogging-exemption
to anyone who catches him.
• However, the civil guards do not really know what Elias looks like but based his
image from the descriptions of Father Damaso and the alferez.

7. CHAPTER 52 THE CARD OF THE DEAD
AND THE SHADOWS
• When they met Lucas, they thought he was Elias but since he had a scar, they
let him go. When they met the real Elias, he told them he is looking for the man
with a scar on his face and that he is Elias.
• The civil guards then immediately ran back to catch Lucas.

8. MAIN CHARACTERS
The Three Shadows
• Pedro – Don Crisostomo saved his life
• Tarsilo and Bruno – They wanted to show the civil guards that their
father had sons

9. CHAPTER 53 II Buon Dí Si Conosce Da
Mattina
• Morning is beautiful, the rest of the day will be also
• The circumstances of the present will reflect what becomes the
future.
• The news spread throughout the whole town that many lights
had been seen in the cemetery the night before
• Don Filipo and Pilosopong Tasyo talked about the issue
concerning the trouble with the civil guards, the friars, and the
youth.

10. CHAPTER 54 REVELATIONS
• Salvi tells the alferez that he had learned through a confession
that there was a plan of rebellion ensuing.
• Elias rushes to Ibarra's house and explains that the plot had
already been discovered, and Ibarra was accused of leading
the rebellion.
• Elias immediately tells him to run and escape, but not before
burning all the documents, letters, and any evidence that would
implicate him.
• In one of these letters, Elias discovers that it was Ibarra's great
grandfather who had accused his great grandfather of arson.

11. CHAPTER 54 REVELATIONS
Elias lives for only one purpose: To find and exact vengeance on
the descendants of that cruel Spaniard who accused his great
grandfather of a crime without any proof, which had then been
the cause of his family's disgrace. He now discovers that the man
he was searching for was Crisostomo Ibarra.

12. SYMBOLS
Maria Clara symbolizes the ideal woman in the mind of Rizal
Sisa symbolizes the country, and the way it is abused by the
Spaniards
Elias symbolizes the very root of the Filipino culture before the
coming of the Spaniards, which remained strong and unbroken by
the Spanish culture
Tasyo embodies the intelligent people, who never left the country
but instead educated themselves in a religious institution.
Salvi symbolizes the lecherous friars of Rizal’s time
Tiyago symbolizes the pretentious illustrados of Rizal’s time

13. BIBLE VERSES
Proverbs 19:1
Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in
speech and is a fool.
James 1:26
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his
heart, this person's religion is worthless.
James 3:14-16
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast
about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven
but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish
ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

14. REFERENCES
Chapter 50: Elias. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2013, from
http://www.kabisig.com/philippines/noli-me-tangere-the-social-cancer-by-dr-jose-rizal-book-
notes-summary-in-english-chapter-50-elias-story-the-summary-of-noli-me-tangere_
902.html
Nikkirsa/Slideshare.net (2013, November 2). Dona Victorina Character Summary and
Analysis. Retrieved December 14, 2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/nikkirsa/doa-victorina
Marien/slideshare.net (2011, November 11). 7 Noli Me Tangere. Retrieved December 13,
2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/MarienBe/7-noli-me-tangere