The third section of this novel begins with Chief recognizing that McMurphy's behavior also has infected Doctor Spivey. Spivey stands up to Ratched when she questions the wisdom of allowing the patients to play basketball on the ward.
The relationship between Ratched and McMurphy has become marked by a strained politeness until Ratched denies McMurphy an Accompanied Pass with a woman named Candy Starr. In response, McMurphy puts his hand through the glass of the nurses' station again, pretending it was an accident.
McMurphy coaches a game pitting the patients against the African-American aides that soon turns unruly. McMurphy bloodies the nose of the aide named Washington, which will impact future events in the novel.
The patients' behavior is changed because of McMurphy's influence. Harding flirts with the student nurses, Billy Bibbit stops writing about other patients in Ratched's log book, and Scanlon throws the basketball through the recently replaced glass in the nurses' station.
