Crisostomo Ibarra and the mysterious and powerful Elias are quite similar, even though the former is an immensely wealthy mestizo and the latter, an impoverished fellow who has seen better days. Both have been victimized by the colonial system, yet have contrasting approaches to addressing the social ills that surround them. Discuss
Though both Ibarra and Elías are in favor of significant changes to Philippine society, they disagree about the best means to achieve these changes. Ibarra generally wants to work within existing systems, such as going through established channels and using diplomacy (such as manipulating officials into thinking he is complying with their suggestions regarding the school) to attain his goals, which tend to be less radical than Elías’s. In contrast, Elías favors a more extreme strategy, and he often points out that Ibarra’s generally happy, comfortable life allows him to have faith in the systems that have proved useless or worse to many other people. Yet as the novel progresses, Elías emerges as a more moderate figure in comparison to the truly radical Captain Pablo, who favors violent insurrection against the Spanish colonial regime. Elías fears that Philippine society is not yet ready for this sort of violence, though he does not necessarily oppose it on a philosophical level, and worries that it will hurt the very people he hopes to advocate for.
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