When he gets mad at one point, Chief Bromden says, "here he comes and he's as big as a house!" (Kesey 99). This shows how his presence is greatened because of the power he holds. This is similar to Jesus because no presence can be greater to that of Jesus. Repetition of points made by McMurphy becomes the ideas that he in a way preaches to the other patients. .
The first lesson that McMurphy teaches the patients is how important it is to make the most out of every situation and no to remember to laugh no matter what happens. The first thing that McMurphy notices after being admitted onto the ward is that nobody laughs. This upsets him because he knows that "when you lose your laugh you lose your footing, your grasp on life" (Bigchalk (1) 10). Once he realizes that they are too afraid to laugh, he tries to make jokes about the others, even if the only response is a small chuckle. He is consistent with working on this, and the patients, seeing this, sometimes try to fake a laugh to impress their new leader. Although it takes a long time, the patients eventually open up and are no longer afraid to laugh at whatever they find amusing. .
Another thing that McMurphy stresses to the patients is how life is a gamble. McMurphy starts gambling the minute he comes onto the ward, and will make a bet for almost anything. If someone disagrees with him, instead of fighting or arguing, he makes a bet and does his best to prove them wrong. This not only shows that life is a gamble, but it also shows that no matter what, a person should always put forth their best effort. When he makes a bet that he can lift an extremely heavy control panel, he loses. After losing he says, "I tried though I sure as hell did that much" (Kesey 121). When he said this, he really meant that the only important thing is to try; he had no sarcastic undertone at all. It was just one more way for him to teach the patients this lesson.