“Living through narratives”: Narratives as a means of survival for the homeless people in Athens
Apstrakt: This paper aims at portraying the modern narratives, not only as a means of communication, but mainly the narrative’s transformation into a means of survival for the socially marginalized population groups. The analysis of the homeless people’s narratives is combined with a broader “system of roles”, used by the homeless to present themselves in the social scene, essentially within the framework of a Goffman-type performance. Thus, the homeless present themselves occasionally as being “unhappy”, “weak”, “kind” etc. in order to gain the sympathy and help of the people passing by. As a result, their narrative combined with their performance is not a mere narrative of their life, but also a dynamic means to get through the daily urban difficulties.
Ključne reči: homelessness, poverty, beggars, narratives, performance, survival strategies, street ethnography