This is because it draws attention to the preconception the migrants faced.
Explanation:
In "Okies Have Lice" from years of dust, The text is a side bar. it goes like this; "Surrounding communities resented the newcomers. some locals assumed that because Okies were poor, they deserved to be poor, they had brought poverty upon themselves through Laziness, ignorance, and immorality." Too often, Okie children met bias in a school. "The better dressed children shout and jeer," A parent told John Steinbeck. " The teachers are quite often impatient with these addition to their duties, and the parents of the nice children do not want to have disease carriers in their schools" After all, everyone just 'knew' that "Okies have lice".
