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Reviving history like instant noodles in hot water

By J.R. Lim



When my students encounter Jose Rizal’s 1883 Madrid diary for the first time, they roll their eyes, assuming I want to bore them. How relevant is a ball of yarn, for example, to the writing of the “Noli Me Tangere”? What is the significance of his purchase of two pen knives—a cheap one first, followed by a more expensive one the next day? Isn’t this a lesson in false economy?