A diary is regarded as a personal source for analysis and a study of the writer. It is his first-hand evaluation of experiences and undertakings that happened during his time. By reading an excerpt of Rizal’s diary, particularly his expenses, one can re-evaluate his conception on Rizal that is different from that of the textbooks and classroom discussions. What I encountered while reading his diary was his very meticulous in noting down his expenses. Although he was not consistent in monitoring his expenses daily, he wrote down at least the important expenses that he made or even the money that he received.
I made a raw tally of his expenses based on the reading to see which specific goods or services Rizal spent on. I learned that most of his expenditure came from the subscriptions he made in Madrid and books that he bought for school or for leisure. He spent from 150 to 160 Pesetas for these subscriptions. He was devoted to reading fiction books that were socially and politically articulated. These facts make the general idea that he loved to read a diverse array of literature. Then, he paid 120 Pesetas for four review sessions for his degree and at least 40 Pesetas for school materials. He spent significantly on lottery tickets; totalling 15.5 Pesetas for about five tickets which somewhat gave me an idea that he found enjoyment on sweepstakes (making him more of a ‘human’). And on postage stamps, he spent with a sum of 14.2 Pesetas. I could say that Rizal was an avid enthusiast of the performing arts. He liked watching the theatro and based on the reading he watched at least seven plays for 13.75 Pesetas.
He actually is meticulous and detailed on recording his expenses. A columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote, “Rizal’s 1884 diaries are very detailed regarding expenses and can be quite boring to a non-specialist. But here we see what books he is buying, when, and how much they cost. It is significant that Rizal’s recurring and most consistent expense was for books and reading materials, while food was not given the same attention. To spend on books, he scrimped on bathing, once even bragging to his sisters that he had not taken a bath in weeks!” (Ocampo, 2009).[1] After writing the paper about Rizal’s letters for his colleagues, family members and the like, I had a good grip of what he was like more than what I learned and read. Moreover, reading his diary entries gave me a better understanding of what Rizal is as an ordinary person, not the hero.
[1] Ocampo, Ambeth. "Rizal’s reading list ." Philippine Daily Inquirer (Makati), March 27, 2009. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20090327-196425/Rizals-reading-list (accessed February 7, 2012).
No comments:
Post a Comment