Homelessness is a liminal state, both physically and cognitively. Those who find themselves in this liminal state are subject to separation from mainstream society because of the perceived danger they pose to the mainstream. Many contemporary views of homelessness were established in the early part of the 20th century, during the Great Depression. The archetypes of the homeless that were established at this time are well documented in literature from the era. In this study, I performed participant observation of homeless men in Cleveland, Ohio in order to determine how the archetypes developed during the Great Depression have changed and how they are enacted in contemporary society.
By comparing literary and historical accounts with contemporary data, I demonstrated that there has been little change in the way the mainstream views the homeless in the last seventy years. Changes in the law have fostered a new sub-set to the archetype of the Ex-con, the Sex Offender. In addition, I found that the homeless have their own set of archetypes concerning the mainstream.