Both Uses of
heed
in
A Prayer for Owen Meany
- Naturally, my pleas regarding the inevitable, grandmotherly reprimand were not only unheeded; they went as unnoticed as Owen Meany, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the sun from the attic skylight shining through his protrusive ears, which were a glowing pink—the sunlight so bright that the tiny veins and blood vessels in his ears appeared to be illuminated from within The powerful morning sun struck Owen's head from above, and from a little behind him, so that the light itself seemed to be presenting him.†
p. 71.8unheeded = ignoredstandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unheeded means not and reverses the meaning of heeded. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- Whereas the Rev. Mr. Merrill had heeded his calling as a young man—he had always been in, and of, the church—the Rev. Mr. Wiggin was a former airline pilot; some difficulty with his eyesight had forced his early retirement from the skies, and he had descended to our wary town with a newfound fervor—the zeal of the convert giving him the healthy but frantic appearance of one of those "elder" citizens who persist in entering vigorous sporting competitions in the over-fifty category.†
p. 113.9 *heeded = paid close attention to; or did what was suggested
Definition:
pay close attention to; or to do what is suggested -- especially with regard to a warning or other advice