To what extent was Mussolinis character and beliefs, shaped by the early years of his life, reflected in adulthood

and how did this influence his decision-making?

One of the most notorious and intriguing dictators of the twentieth century, Benito Mussolini had a huge impact on Italy during his reign. He wasnt always this powerful dictator , and had in fact endured a difficult childhood. He was an intelligent and sharp individual, a charismatic leader with exceptional oratorical skills. However his character remained flawed, being shaped by the harsh experiences he endured during his youth. They ultimately developed his thirst for power, a hunger for adulation, a violent, cold-blooded nature and a selfish personality. These to a great extent influenced his decisions during his political reign and led him to make some rash and regretful choices. Other factors that played a role in his downfallincluded Italys economic situation after World War I and his personal relationship with the German dictator, Adolf Hitler. Mussolinis childhood was very rough and difficult and it was the experiences in these years that shaped his beliefs and personality. He was born into a relatively poor family, to Rosa Mussolini, in a quaint Italian county, Predappio. His father, Alessandro was a blacksmith often without work, a womaniser, a man who believed in corporal punishment who never went to Church and a socialist. *He brought him up to be very conscious of the injustices of society and to hate the bourgeoisie, the oppressors of the proletariatAlessandro taught him t o resist authority and to rebeltaught him solely the ways of revolutionary socialism. * As a result he was often disobedient and became interested in politics and was drawn to socialist ideas. The effects of his fathers teachings were seen in his day-to-day life where as early as eight he was a troublemaker and a thief, constantly got into fights and was incredibly stubborn. His rebellious nature only intensified upon being sent him to a boarding school where because of his familys poor financial situation, Benito grew up detesting the wealthy and their ease of life. This hatred fuelled him through his whole political career. He expressed this anger through extreme rebellious acts, which led to him stabbing one of his peers with a pocketknife. * Despite these horrid acts, Mussolini was a sharp individual and also worked hard during school. He was involved and participated in debates and discussions. He developed excellent oration skills here, with his speeches making it to the papers. * These skills proved useful and remained evident throughout his career. His upbringing was far from illustrious, but it gave him the character, the opinions, and the stubborn cruelty in protecting his pride and ideal that he is known for today.
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Benito Mussolini- David Downing pg 6 Mussolini; A biography - Jasper Ridley pg 11 Benito Mussolini- David Downing- pg 7

Mussolinis roots; the childhood and teenage years of Mussolini- Alice Mortiary http://voices.yahoo.com/mussolinis-roots-childhood-teenage-years-of-3172176.html?cat=37

His thirst for power and glory and his arrogant nature caused him to make many rash decisions as dictator. For example he insisted upon being known as 'His Excellency, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism, and Founder of the Empire'. He even went on to create and hold the supreme military rank of First Marshal of the Empire. * It is clear therefore that he wanted to reinforce his position of power as a result of his harsh youth where he detested the inequality of power between the rich and poor. In an effort to expand Italys economic and social status after it had been badly damaged in WW1 he sought about taking action. In his arrogance however he did not undertake well thought out actions. At the Battle for Grain Mussolini wanted to raise wheat production to reduce Italys need to buy foreign wheat. Italian wheat became expensive at home and the price of bread rose. As a result, this hit the poor the worst, as bread was a major part of their diet. Due to this however Italy was able to endure the effects of the depression better than most countries. Therefore though he had some successes from the policy his failure at the whole picture hurt the economy and increased discontent amongst the masses. * Mussolini took many extreme actions to fulfil his thirst for power an example being a coup. Not being happy with the socialists having more seats than the fascists in parliament, he gathered his followers, dressed in black shirts, and marched on Rome to take control of the government. All of this was done with little opposition and Mussolini popularity enlarged significantly. This expresses Mussolin is rebellious nature and portrays the revolutionary his father brought him up to be.
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Influenced by his youth, he saw violence as violence as the solution to his problems and a method of asserting his dominance and expressing his beliefs. He used it as a means to gain the vital support of the people and take action to achieve his rise to power. One of the crucial ways he gained this support and came to power was by killing the socialist politician, Matteoti when he spoke out nationally about Mussolini rigging the ballot. He also suppressed and intimidated various minor groups to support his party and to ensure his dictatorship. Mussolini formed the squadristi, * Fascists dressed in black shirts to carry out these violent acts. For instance when passing the Acrebo Law * , which gave the fascist party a majority of deputies in parliament, he used the squadristi to inject fear into the public and ensure people voted correctly. This violent and bullying nature is evident in Mussolinis childhood and clearly carried on even into his adulthood. His encouragement towards Italy fighting WW1 conveys his love for violence and war. Good Reads- Benito Mussolini http://www.goodreads.com/characters/26557-benito-mussolini
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History learning site- The Economy in Fascist Italy http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/economy_in_fascist_italy.htm

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Interlink illustrated histories, Mussolini and Fascism- Marco Palla pg 21

Britannica Encyclopedia- Acrebo law http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/755667/Acerbo-Law

One of the reasons behind Mussolinis violence was his hatred towards humanity. He believed they that they were all selfish and out for themselves. * This possibly developed through his rough childhood where he wasnt given the support of many people and had to fend for himself. He neglected to realize that in the natural world, living beings are not always in conflict; they can help each other through symbiosis. Mussolini's creation of the violent nationalist movement of Fascism reflected his feelings to towards the people, through his strict discipline and lack of sympathy for people he deemed weak. Before the elections he made himself popular with the people reducing work hours and taxes for big businesses *
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however upon becoming dictator he showed little care, abolishing trade unions, introducing iron discipline in factories and businesses and reducing wages. * In this was Mussolini was

able to operate Italy like an army that he controlled and asserted his dominance over. Growing up he was made to feel inferior by the wealthier sections of society and this probably influenced his future decisions to control others.

Mussolini was proud of himself and his public appearance and was keen to portray himself as a man of action among the Italian people. For instance, he often wore his military uniform among the public. This was possibly in order to portray himself as fearless and majestic. Despite his bad health and digestion that had given him trouble since his time in Switzerland he still fought to maintain his public appearance and showed no signs of illness to the public. Newspapers were forbidden from mentioning his name and the Italian people were not told about the glasses he needed to wear so as to maintain his perfect public image. *
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It is clear

as therefore that he valued his public image to a great extent and was willing to risk his own well being at maintaining it. He even attempted to portray this perfection through his family whom he wanted to hold as an example to the country. However outside the public light he wasnt a good husband or a father and he behaved more like a single man. His continual ill health must have affected his mind and led him to be further isolated from his family. He was so far above the ordinary people that he had no real contact with anyone and grew out of touch with society. *
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Therefore his strong and bold appearance was merely a facade and

inside he was in fact miserable and uneasy. This misery may have had an effect on his thinking and possibly lead him to make some regrettable decisions such as his rushed decision to enter WWII.

Benito Mussolini-David Downing pg33

History learning site- Mussolinis dictatorship http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/mussolini_dictatorship.htm

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Interlink illustrated histories, Mussolini and Fascism- Marco Palla pg 53 Benito Mussolini- David Downing pg 35 Benito Mussolini-David Downing pg 35

Due to Mussolinis ambitious personality that compelled him to be the best, he developed feelings of jealousy, upon seeing Hitlers territorial victories and achievements. Mussolini was scornful of Hitler and his great power. Mussolinis egoistic character however probably influenced his opinions and he thus described Hitler and his theories as coarse and simplistic in comparison to his own. He also had a low opinion of Hitlers elevation to power, which he saw as less glorious than his own. *
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As mentioned however these feelings may be

biased due to his slight jealousy for Hitlers power. Even as a child Mussolini had detested the wealthy, and those with great power. * Power that he was unable to achieve then, which

reflects his distaste for a powerful man such as Hitler amongst whom he may have felt inferior. The two however managed to form an alliance and created the Rome -Berlin axis over mutual goals and similar beliefs such as their interest in a totalitarian government system and their use of violence and propaganda to gain their political strength. * Upon seeing Germany in such a hurry to enter the war the Mussolini did not want to be left behind. Despite the warning from the Italians and saner politicians he nonetheless chose to enter, ill prepared. * He was so ambitious and anxious not to miss any occasion to profit from Germanys success. This expresses Mussolinis thirst for power and glory that he was willing to achieve at any cost. The war a complete failure as the people expected. His rash decision resulted in serious consequences. There was a quick drop in popularity for Mussolini and shortage of food and resources for Italy. Italians were being forced to take jobs in Ger manys war industries where they received poor treatment. Mussolinis response to this was to blame everyone but himself calling the Italians, soft and unworthy. It is clear therefore that Mussolini intentions were purely selfish. Mussolinis powerful speaking skills that had developed through his youth proved a tremendous asset allowing him to lead Italy. As a child Mussolini was occasionally involved in debates and discussions. He developed excellent oration skills here, with his speeches making it to the papers. * Through his youth he worked as a journalist among many newspapers including Avanti *
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for many years developing great critical writing skills. With

Hitler and Mussolini- Alpha History http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/hitler-and-mussolini/

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Romantic Heroism in War- Frank. E. Smitha http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch12.htm Interlink illustrated histories, Mussolini and Fascism- Marco Palla pg 106 Benito Mussolini-David Downing pg 43

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Mussolinis roots; the childhood and teenage years of Mussolini- Alice Mortiary http://voices.yahoo.com/mussolinis-roots-childhood-teenage-years-of-3172176.html?cat=37 History learning site- Benito Mussolini http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/benito_mussolini.htm
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many years of experience in persuasive and creative writing and debating skills Mussolini was able to sway and influence the public with his charisma and words. Mussolini was able to fire up the people and motivate discontent individuals. His speeches usually did not make sense however but they appealed more to peoples emotions than reason. *
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As a result he

was able to convince the Italian people to join his goal of rebuilding Italy and expanding its power. They were unable to see that he did in fact not have the best intentions for them but was merely ruling for his own power and glory, until it was too late. We become strong, I feel, when we have no friends upon whom to lean, or to look to for moral guidanceLet us have a dagger between our teeth, a bomb in our hands, and an infinite scorn in our hearts *
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His

language is very direct and persuasive and emotive and creative use of words that reaches to every member of the audience and thus explains how he managed to captivate and engage masses of people.

In conclusion, despite the many flaws that were present in his character Mussolini holds to be amongst the most intriguing and notorious dictators of all time. It is the experiences and difficult obstacles faced during his youth that can ultimately be seen to have shaped his personality and beliefs to a large extent. These included his violent and aggressive nature, his vaulting ambition, his arrogance and his selfishness. Such failings in his character are evident through his political reign and can be seen to influence his decision-making through his rash and regretful choices, in particular his decision to enter Italy into WWII completely unprepared.

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A chip off the old block? Mussolini- Nicholas Farrell's http://www.arlindo-correia.com/060204.html Brainy Quotes, -Benito Mussolini quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/benito_mussolini.html
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