Write a paragraph to summarize benito mussolini’s radio address. include the main point of his speech, and provide the key ideas that he develops over the course of the text. < < read less

"Il Duce" (The Leader) of Italy, Benito Mussolini, gave more than one radio address.  So I won't pretend to summarize here which radio address you have in front of you as an assignment.  But you can do that part on your own.  Go through the document and highlight the main thoughts in each paragraph.  Those will become the key ideas that you'll then highlight as you write your essay.

In whichever speech you're examining, look for ways that Mussolini expressed his Fascist energy and agenda.  "Fascism" is what Mussolini termed his movement.  The term goes back to the Latin "fasces" which was a bundle of rods with an ax sticking out -- a symbol of power.  Mussolini's movement was all about projecting the power of his personality and the strength of Italy as a nation.  There really wasn't a big philosophy behind fascism itself -- mostly it was about projecting an image of power.  

If you want a fun version of what a speech by Mussolini was like, on the television show "The Office," there was an episode where the character Dwight Shrute was giving a speech to a room full of salespeople, and his co-worker Jim Halpert had given him a script to use which was modeled after speeches by Mussolini.  You can probably find a video clip of "Dwight's Speech" online.  It won't help you answer your essay question, but will put you in the mood!

It taught people how to live a good life, but not what to believe.