Victims and Victimization

The theme of victimization is integral to "Victory Over Japan." For example, Billy Monday is the victim of a squirrel bite and the painful rabies shots that follow. Rhoda is quick to exploit Billy's tragedy. Pretending to befriend the unpopular child, she hopes to exploit his situation in an effort to enhance her own reputation both as a budding journalist and as a "good" daughter. She had, after all, been the only third-grader to have a story published in the school newspaper by capitalizing on the victim status of the school's principal, Mr. Harmon, who suffered shell shock during World War I. She hopes to do the same with Billy.

When Billy and Rhoda discover the child pornography, Rhoda sees the children in the pictures primarily as prey: "They looked like earthworms, all naked like that. They looked like something might fly down and eat them...