--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No, I don't think I've been defiled. But…" description: "\"“No, I don't think I've been defiled. But I haven't been saved, either. There's nobody who can save me right now, Mr. Wind-Up Bird. The world looks tot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/haruki-murakami-21_emptiness_no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i_1112015.jpg" --- # No, I don't think I've been defiled. But I haven't been… ![“No, I don't think I've been defiled. But I haven't been saved, either. There's nobody who can save me right now, Mr. Wind-Up Bird. The world looks totally empty to me. Everything I see around me looks fake. The only thing thay isn't fake is that gooshy thing inside me.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/haruki-murakami-21_emptiness_no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i_1112015.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/haruki-murakami-21_emptiness_no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i_1112015.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/haruki-murakami-21_emptiness_no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i_1112015.jpg) > ““No, I don't think I've been defiled. But I haven't been saved, either. There's nobody who can save me right now, Mr. Wind-Up Bird. The world looks totally empty to me. Everything I see around me looks fake. The only thing thay isn't fake is that gooshy thing inside me.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels empty, lacking salvation, yet senses an authentic inner core amidst a fake world **In simple terms:** Feeling empty yet holding an inner truth Key Takeaway Recognize inner authenticity despite external emptiness Themes existentialism identity spirituality Mood melancholic introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - search for meaning - mental health support Key Concepts nihilism inner self authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What inner truth sustains you? - How do you confront perceived emptiness? A Different Perspective May overlook external help needed for healing ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Haruki-murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haruki-murakami/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) ## Related quotes > [“But finally, Mr. Wind-Up Bird, isn't that just what life is? Aren't we all trapped in the dark somewhere, and they've taken away our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/but-finally-mr-wind-up-bird-isn-t-that-just-what-life-is-aren-t-we/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Have you ever seen the shadows of tears, Mr Wind-up Bird? They're nothing like ordinary shadows. Nothing at all. They come here from some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/have-you-ever-seen-the-shadows-of-tears-mr-wind-up-bird-they-re/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The little things are important, Mr. Wind-Up Bird,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-little-things-are-important-mr-wind-up-bird/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Can I be honest with you, Mr. Wind-Up Bird? I mean, really, really, really honest? Sometimes I get sooo scared! I’ll wake up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/can-i-be-honest-with-you-mr-wind-up-bird-i-mean-really-really-really/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There was a small stand of trees nearby, and from it you could hear the mechanical cry of a bird that sounded as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-was-a-small-stand-of-trees-nearby-and-from-it-you-could-hear/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Whether by chance conjunction or not, the “wind-up bird” was a powerful presence in Cinnamon’s story. The cry of this bird was audible only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/whether-by-chance-conjunction-or-not-the-wind-up-bird-was-a-powerful/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [A regular wind-up toy world this is, I think. Once a day the wind-up bird has to come and wind the springs of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-regular-wind-up-toy-world-this-is-i-think-once-a-day-the-wind-up/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Here," he said, "get yourself some healthy food. You look awful." I said he had done more than enough for me and that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/here-he-said-get-yourself-some-healthy-food-you-look-awful-i-said-he/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I think of human existence as being like a two-story house. On the first floor people gather together to take their meals, watch television,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-think-of-human-existence-as-being-like-a-two-story-house-on-the/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Pa, kakvo to iskustvo može da ima pisac bez strasti? To ti je kao kuvar bez apetita.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/pa-kakvo-to-iskustvo-mo-e-da-ima-pisac-bez-strasti-to-ti-je-kao-kuvar/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I was living for one thing only, and that was to confirm my own lack of feeling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-was-living-for-one-thing-only-and-that-was-to-confirm-my-own-lack/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I wrote letters in the classroom, I wrote letters at my desk at home with Seagull in my lap, I wrote letters at empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-wrote-letters-in-the-classroom-i-wrote-letters-at-my-desk-at-home/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Ništa se neće promijeniti ako žmirite. Ništa neće nestati samo zato što vi ne vidite šta se zbiva. Zapravo, bit će još gore kada…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/ni-ta-se-ne-e-promijeniti-ako-mirite-ni-ta-ne-e-nestati-samo-zato-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) Nina Schuyler > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No, I don't think I've been defiled. But I haven't been saved, either. There's nobody who can save me right now, Mr. Wind-Up Bird. The world looks totally empty to me. Everything I see around me looks fake. The only thing thay isn't fake is that gooshy thing inside me.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i-haven-t-been-saved-either/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i-haven-t-been-saved-either/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/haruki-murakami-21_emptiness_no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i_1112015.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/haruki-murakami-21_emptiness_no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i_1112015.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/haruki-murakami-21_emptiness_no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i_1112015.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No, I don't think I've been defiled. But I haven't been saved, either. There's nobody who can save me right…” — Haruki Murakami", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“No, I don't think I've been...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i-haven-t-been-saved-either/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/no-i-don-t-think-i-ve-been-defiled-but-i-haven-t-been-saved-either/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```