Lalunio, Xyzer Corpuz

Rizals Life and Works

201011158

MWF 4:00-5:00pm
Jose Rizal: A Hero or a Martyr?

A martyr could be a hero, but a hero couldnt be a martyr. You can be a hero in
any ways, but then you cannot be a martyr unless you sacrifice your own life for the
common good. Jose Rizal, in my own opinion, is considered as a martyr more than a
hero. His act of coming back to the country knowing full well he could be killed,
obviously indicates martyrdom. He chose to face death instead to show his countrymen
that hes willing to die for his country and people.
Filipinos were once then unfairly treated and discriminated by the Spaniards.
Jose Rizal leaved the Philippines to acquire education and used his knowledge to
create a novel that will awake the nationalism of every Filipino for them to have courage
to fight for their rights and for their country. He was already doing well and far from
troubles, in Hongkong with his family. But he chose to come back, trusting the Spanish
invitation.
He was sentenced to death and shot at the back by a firing squad at the
Bagumbayan to show that he is fully devoted to our country and he stood for what he
believed in until the end. His death sparked open rebellion that finally ended Spanish
rule in the country. His martyrdom had set us all free from slavery and better education.
There are so many issues asking why Jose Rizal is our national hero, that hes a
selfless man who didnt even join the revolution, that he didnt even own the traits of
becoming a hero, but then we cannot deny the truth, that Rizal is a martyr for dying for
his own country.