Mussolini’s Childhood Influences Essay

Four factors stand out in the wee formation of Mussolinis character. These are the influence of his native reduce Romagna which was characterized by restlessness and rebellion his puzzles ideologies, an ardent socialist, a convinced revolutionary, an atheist and a blacksmith his middle class heritage and the influences of his mother who was a devout gentle Catholic and the poverty of individuals that surrounded him (Fermi, 1966). These factors influenced the life of Mussolini to a greater degree, shaping what he was to become in future.Mussolinis father was an Copernican influence in his life as he went with him to political meetings while Mussolini was still a young boy. His father was committed to socialism even though he lacked in formal instruction. His father was often considered dangerous by the local authorities and was thrown to tuck in in several occasions owe to his political rulings. Mussolinis life came to resemble that of his father to a great extent as he came to adopt the same kind of radicalism that his father exhibited. However, on that point are other personal attributes and events that as well had a significant influence upon his life.From the moment that he was taken to school, Mussolini had numerous experiences that played a large character in shaping his life. It is these factors that form the subject of this composition publisher. Before look at how the mentioned influences manifested in Mussolinis after life, it is crucial to dedicate some portion of this paper in looking at his life from his childhood through to adulthood. Not many people liked Mussolini when he was a young boy because of his carmine behavior. His family was also not well off, a factor that do his life in school to be difficult.These two aspects of Mussolinis childhood life, poverty and craze, made him to be secluded from other pupils. He was hated by both his fellow pupils and teachers in school. He was often teased by his fellow students because they motto him as a poor boy. His violent nature might have come as a reaction to the way he was being treated by his fellow pupils and teachers. He could be reminded every twenty-four hours that he was not as good as other pupils. In one occasion when some other boy came to insult him, he t overage himself that he was not going to stomach the insults anymore. He reminded himself that he was no longer going to be a confused victim.He got a knife from his pocket and stabbed the boy in the hand. These instances of violence point to the fact that Mussolini was developing a rebellious attitude towards the society which manifested later in his writings as a journalist. Mussolini was often involved in fights and even bullied other pupils. This behavior led him to be suspended in numerous occasions. It is at this stage that indications about his character begun to emerge. In reaction to the incident where he stabbed another student, one of the teachers told him that his soul was as black as soot, a remark which time came to confirm.The incident where he stabbed a fellow student had a profound effect in his life. Even though he was penalize for stabbing the boy, Mussolini never forgot the experience which also came to influence the way he handled situations as an adult. One of the lessons he learned from the experience was that he had to stand for himself. In other words, he had to fight against all odds. Throughout Mussolinis life, there is evidence that he was willing to fight for anything, going to the extent of embracing violence as the only way through which any remarkable change can be realized (Ridley, 1998).Mussolini did not seek the approval from anyone. He believed that others were margin to say he was wrong even if he was right. As he grew up, Mussolini scribbled upon his mind the justification of violence and fighting as a means to success. These were lessons that he came to employ for the rest of his life. This willingness to fight for anything that he wa nted helped him achieve various things. Later in life, he was to become Italys dictator. He also came to be one of the most powerful personalities in the world through his radicalism and sometimes violence. Through these lessons that he learned, he also hurt many innocent victims.With the ontogeny of his power came the growth of the number of individuals being harmed by him. Finally, as stated by one of his teachers, his soul grew as black as soot and lots of the world came to curse him because of his lack of compassion. Environmental influence One of the most important influences that shaped the character and behavior of Mussolini was the village he was born. Its social, political and economic conditions influenced Mussolinis perception of life. Mussolini was born on twenty ninth July, 1883 in Varano di Costa, a small Northern Italian village situated in the dominion of Predappio.The most important industry was agriculture. During the time of his birth, Italy was still at its in fancy. The Italian peninsular had been fragmented into many small kingdoms and city-states for centuries. Some areas of the peninsular were under the promise of foreign kings and Roman Catholic pope. As such, the region was not being controlled by a single leader. However, the city-states united during the mid-nineteenth century, driving out the foreign rulers and fetching over the territories controlled by the pope. A unified kingdom was born in 1861. Industrial revolution also brought about remarkable changes in Italy.Not far-off from the town that Mussolini was born, large factories begun to be established. With the opening of these factories, many peasants who in most cases worked for low wages for rich land owners abandoned their difficult labor and took jobs in the factories. However, many individuals begun to advocate for more rights and among them were Mussolinis parents. Mussolinis father was a blacksmith while his mother was a schoolteacher. Alessandro Mussolini and Ros a Maltoni were not rich individuals even though they were considerably respected in their community.Alessandro took an active role in the local administration. He was a socialist who never failed to express his controversial attitudes. The general belief among the Italian socialists like Benitos father was that the control of the manufacture of goods was to be in the hands of the government. As such, they held that the government should own the factories where goods were being manufactured. They also held the view that the society should be under the workers and not the wealthy company owners. Again, they wanted better working conditions.Alessandro named his son after three socialist heroes a Mexican revolutionary called Benito Juarez, Amilcare Cipriani who facilitated the unity of Rome with the rest of Italy and Andrea Costa who took an active role in organizing socialist riots and strikes in the later parts of the nineteenth century. Mussolinis father served in the local politic s for quite some time but he often got into trouble due to his politics. He had an unstable temper which showed whenever he disagreed with someone. After the beginning of socialist riots in 1902, Mussolinis father was arrested and jailed even though he never participated in it.Mussolinis parents valued education and by the time he was nine, he was sent to a boarding school in a neighboring town. During school, students fagged all their time in school. Since the school was a catholic school, there were very strict rules enforced by the catholic priests. His experience with the priests in this school made him to form a negative perception about them as evidenced by later works. Benito did not perform well either in character or in academics. He was a very intelligent but restless and unmotivated.He only put effort on those subjects that he found to be enkindle to him and was more often than not involved with fights. By the time he was eleven historic period of age, he was expelled from school. After his expulsion from the Catholic school, he was registered in a state school at Forlimpopoli. There were no priests in this school and some of Mussolinis classmates were sons of teachers. As such, he was more comfortable in this school than he was at the Catholic school. However, he was still involved in fights, exhibiting his violent nature even in the new environment.His academic process was better as compared to when he was still in the school run by the priests. He managed to pass the exams necessary for admission in college. He get together Collegio Giosue Carducci in Forlimpopoli where he studied agricultural sciences, mathematics and other disciplines. His favorite subjects were however arts. He performed well in literature and enjoyed music. He later detect that he was talented in mother tongue writing and giving. In 1901, he graduated with a diploma which enabled him to secure a place as a teacher in an elementary school.It was during his last year in college that he got his first public recognition. He was requested to make a public speech before his entire school about Verdi. Mussolini enjoyed lessons about the Roman Empire and admired it greatly. He frustrated his teachers due to his laziness and lack of discipline. He also frightened his peers. By the time he graduated, he had developed a strong personality and loathed his humble origin. He also became an instinctive socialist. His poor context made him to try and distance himself from poverty but the circumstances could not allow him to make any progress.Like many other graduates during the time, Mussolini found himself looking for work. He got employed as a schoolmaster in February 1902 in a small elementary school. He however developed problems from the first day as he despised textbooks. He felt that they made it hard for him to inspire his students. The townspeople thought that he interacted with the students excessively while others remarked that he spent much of his l eisure time drinking and playing cards. Mussolini probably secured the job owing to the fact that the local socialist councilors were more impressed with his brand of politics than that of the other candidates.He however regarded his employers lowly, seeing them as weak and flabby (Neville, 2004). Mussolini was too restless to find happiness being a provincial schoolmaster. As much as he did not earn enough money, Mussolini did not stay away from playing cards and getting involved in political discussions. He got into serious trouble when he begun dating a married woman. The relationship was marked with problems which at times led to violence. Mussolini had established the behavior of blustering(a) and abusing women early in his childhood.In one instance during an argument, Mussolini picked a knife and stabbed the woman in the arm. He was told by the administrators that he would not be hire again due to his conduct. In March 1902, Mussolini was elected by the local teachers associ ation, marking the beginning of his politics. He was elected to represent the members at an educational congress. He managed to impress with his flexibility despite his wild and aggressive behavior. This covered for his moral and intellectual weakness. He was not satisfied with his success Mussolini was eighteen years old by the beginning of the 1902 summer.By the standards of the time, he was well educated, smart and was fluent in speech. He had an interest in politics and poetry and generally love having a good time. However, Mussolini was never satisfied and was constantly restless. He was not certain of what he wanted to do with his future as there were scrimpy opportunities for people of his age and academic achievement in the rural parts of Italy. Many individuals shared inn this feeling. More than a million Italians emigrated between the years 1896 and 1914 with the majority seeking better opportunities in the United States of America.However, Mussolini opted to go northward s to Switzerland where he managed to further his education. The Italian law required that whenever an individual reached the age of nineteen, he was to be conscripted in the army. Mussolini might have avoided the draft by moving to Switzerland. He was also seeking for adventure. He also could not avoid difference Gualtieri since he had been involved in a violent conflict with the local mayor which had also forced him to live the school. Mussolinis move to Switzerland marked an important moment in his life.He did not change his mind about leaving even when he was informed of his fathers arrest as he waited for a train for Switzerland. His mother had given him some money to survive on but the money was soon spent living Mussolini broke. He was forced to perform hard and physical jobs which he did not like. He also took some other odd jobs and at times begged and slept on approximate range benches when he did not have any money. He eventually realized that he could earn some money wr iting. He wrote for a socialist newspaper but often found himself on the wrong side of the law owing to his socialist views and his poverty.In numerous instances, he was arrested, thrown in jail and banned from one town to another. He however depended on his writing entirely. The contents of his writing were radical in the sense that it criticized the existing society and advocated for change. He constantly urged for the kings to be overthrown. He also criticized the Catholic Church as he believed that the priests and the bishops obstructed reform and justice. Mussolinis radicalism and anti-clericalism were as a result of his early life and experiences.