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    One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey Summary

    One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
    Ken Kesey
    Fiction
    Psychology
    Society
    Philosophy
    Overview
    Key Takeaways
    Author
    FAQs

    Overview of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

    Kesey's rebellious masterpiece inspired a film that swept the "Big Five" Oscars - a rare feat that shocked Hollywood. Can a story about mental institutions challenge how we view freedom itself? The cultural phenomenon grossed $108 million on a $4 million budget.

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    "Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

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    "Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

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    "Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

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    "Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

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    "It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

    @OojasSalunke
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    "The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

    @Leo, Law Student, UPenn
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    "Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

    @Cashflowbubu
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    "Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

    @Moemenn
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    "I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

    @Chloe, Solo founder, LA
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    12
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    117

    "Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

    @Raaaaaachelw
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    "Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

    @Matt, YC alum
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    108

    "Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

    @Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
    platform
    comments
    254
    likes
    17

    "Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

    @djmikemoore
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    "BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

    @Pitiful
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    "BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

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    "The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

    @Leo, Law Student, UPenn
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    "Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

    @Cashflowbubu
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    Trending categories
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    Celebrities' reading list
    Elon MuskCharlie KirkBill GatesSteve JobsAndrew HubermanJoe RoganJordan Peterson
    Award winning collection
    Pulitzer PrizeNational Book AwardGoodreads Choice AwardsNobel Prize in LiteratureNew York TimesCaldecott MedalNebula Award
    Featured Topics
    ManagementAmerican HistoryWarTradingStoicismAnxietySex
    Best books by Year
    2025 Best Non Fiction Books2024 Best Non Fiction Books2023 Best Non Fiction Books
    Learning tools
    Knowledge VisualizerAI Podcast Generator
    Featured authors
    Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieGeorge OrwellO. J. SimpsonBarbara O'NeillWinston ChurchillCharlie Kirk
    BeFreed vs other apps
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    The Fog Machine: Inside the Ward's Controlled Reality

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    In the sterile halls of an Oregon psychiatric hospital, a perfectly calibrated machine runs under Nurse Ratched's meticulous control. Her starched uniform, rigid posture, and calculating smile embody the mechanical precision she demands. The ward hums with perpetual Muzak playing through hidden speakers, while the clock runs at deliberately altered speeds-all designed to keep patients docile and compliant. Through the eyes of our narrator, Chief Bromden-a half-Native American patient feigning deaf-muteness-we see beyond the antiseptic facade to what he calls "the Combine," a vast mechanized conspiracy processing humans into conformity. The fluorescent lights buzz constantly, the floors gleam with unnatural shine, and the air feels sanitized of human warmth. Nurse Ratched's most insidious tool is the group therapy session, which she transforms into what newcomer McMurphy accurately labels a "peckin' party." During these orchestrated meetings, patients are manipulated into attacking each other's vulnerabilities while staff clinically document each emotional wound. When patient Pete Bancini briefly rebels, crying out that he's "born dead," the response is swift-he's efficiently sedated, becoming "like an old clock that won't tell time but won't stop neither." In this carefully constructed environment, patients have surrendered their humanity, becoming what intellectual patient Harding describes as "rabbits" too afraid to challenge the "wolf" that rules them. The ward exists in perpetual fog-both literal in the Chief's hallucinations and metaphorical in the patients' chemically dulled consciousness.

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