contrast Steinbeck's attitude toward the beggars and his attitude toward the doctor

The beggars are portrayed as people who accepted their fate and work within the confines of social expectations. They beg because they are poor and it is expected of them to beg. The doctor is portrayed as a fat racially insensitive European colonist. He is more a charlatan than a doctor who preys on people willing to give him money for his shady concoctions.