Part III: McMurphy and his twelve disciples

During Part III, you really see how McMurphy is working his magic with all the patients to improve their mental state and bring them back to their state of mind of being men instead scared mental patients. He does this in several ways throughout part III starting off with Bromden. First when the night worker comes in and takes all of Bromden’s chewing gum, McMurphy offers his own to him showing him the friendship that he is worth, and in return Bromden speaks and thanks him, showing that he is regaining some kind of security knowing he can trust McMurphy with his secret. You also find out that Bromden has more in common with McMurphy then we thought because he too pretended to be deaf and dumb one summer so he could listen to everyone’s secrets and cause havoc. McMurphy also shows Bromden he can still be a man when he talks to him about the boat trip and tells him that it is a prostitute taking them and not his aunt. This in return causes Bromden to get an erection which symbolizes Bromden’s own self-knowledge of knowing that he can be the man he use to be again with the help of McMurphy as his friend.
McMurphy also helps out the rest of the patients gain a little more self awareness when he takes them out on the boating trip. McMurphy brings back the feeling of sexual drive to the men by presenting them with Candy Starr who is a beautiful woman, and the men experience the feeling of their old sexual drive again without having to feel ashamed like Nurse Ratched has them feel. In McMurphy’s opinion, this is the first step to helping the men regain their confidence and manhood in order for them to regain their good mental health they once had before.
Another thing that McMurphy shows the men is that they can use their “insanity” to their advantage instead of letting people put them down and scare them. When they go to the gas station and the attendant starts to disrespect them McMurphy shows them that they can use being what is thought to be crazy to help show that they are men and they aren’t scared. He teaches them that they can cope with the outside world in a different way other then conformity.
The last situation that happens that really helps the McMurphy change the way these men think is when McMurphy doesn’t help them when they’re out at sea. Like Christ did with his twelve disciples, he shows them that they don’t need him and that they are men and they can handle themselves. And this really shows a great improvement to their mental health because they actually have a difference in confidence in themselves when they get to shore and the seamen compliment them on their large catches.

In this part you see McMurphy is becoming the men's very own savior and is taking the men under his wings and showing them how to fly... But how long can he carry these men until he falls under the pressure of his own mental health?