[Casy functions as an allegorical figure in the film, conveying the spiritual yearnings of the working class characters.And then because of public interest and demand (and soaring newspaper sales), she incarnates an American ex-minor-league baseball player/hobo (named John Doe - an Everyman character) to sell his services as an imposter and impersonate the non-existent character.[Note: On the sidewalk, director Hitchcock made his customary cameo appearance, passing by Jones while reading a newspaper.If perchance, one of these freaks of nature survived, he was always regarded with suspicion.Many of the freaks of nature were forced to beg, steal, or starve in order to survive.The prologue went on to explain how abnormalities in ""freaks"" within society were often viewed with revulsion, due to a persistent "love of beauty" and "the result of long conditioning by our forefathers.