"Miss Ratched is a veritable angel of mercy and why, everybody knows it. She's unselfish as the wind, toiling thanklessly for the good of all, day after day, seven days a week Oh no my egomaniac buddy, she is dedicated, she gives every bit of herself, she desires nothing more to see us walk out of her adjusted and capable once more of coping with life," says Harding. What Harding does not yet know is McMurphy will prepare him for society much more than Ratched could ever possibly do. McMurphy is a figure of all that society is; blunt, sporadic, and unpredictable, unlike the predictable lifestyle the patients have in the hospital. Soon McMurphy encourages Harding to break the rules by exposing him to the gambling, which he has known so well from the outside world. " I am wagering that I can bug her so she comes apart at the neat little seams and shows you guys she ain't as unbeatable as you think," McMurphy says about Ratched. Harding gladly takes the bet and even puts odds on it "fifteen to five." McMurphy also gets Harding riled when he stages a pretend baseball on the television, Harding exclaims, " Run, you mother loving turkey, run!" knowing very well that he will anger Nurse Ratched. Just from a few days with McMurphy, Harding has become more independent and confident than he has been for the last dozen years. .
Towards the end of the novel Harding has gained so much confidence and courage that he deliberately says, "Lady we think you are full of so much bull," to Nurse Ratchet, the woman whom he had feared for years. Slowly McMurphy is unintentionally building him up to the point where he can become adjusted the every day life and eventually re-enter the outside world.
A second person whom McMurphy affects is Billy Bibbit, the youngest patient on the ward. When McMurphy first comes to the hospital, Billy is nothing but an innocent boy, afraid to confront other people, and stand up for what he feels and believes.