how does steinbeck feel about middle-class businessmen

For the people who own the diners and other small businesses along Route 66, the migrant workers are little more than a burden, since the migrants ask these people, who are simply attempting to make a living, for handouts and charity. The men and women who work at the diners on Route 66 view the migrant families with a conflicted sense of loathing and compassion. They see these travelers as shiftless and threatening, yet do take pity on them.