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My Mother Pieced Quilts
Assigned by: Julie Ford
Due: Nov 17, 2025 11:59 PM
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Question 5
The speaker describes both herself and the quilts as “sewn hard and taut to withstand the thrashings of / twenty-five years” in lines 53 to 54. Using context clues in these lines and the entire stanza, infer the meaning of taut as it is used in this description. Write the meaning in your own words and explain how you figured it out.
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Taut here means pulled tight and held firmly — not loose or floppy.
I figured this out from the surrounding words: the quilts are “sewn hard” and meant “to withstand the thrashings of / twenty-five years,” which suggests they were made strong and tightly stitched so they wouldn’t sag, come apart, or wear out. The image of something needing to resist rough use (thrasings) makes “taut” mean tightly stretched and secure.
I figured this out from the surrounding words: the quilts are “sewn hard” and meant “to withstand the thrashings of / twenty-five years,” which suggests they were made strong and tightly stitched so they wouldn’t sag, come apart, or wear out. The image of something needing to resist rough use (thrasings) makes “taut” mean tightly stretched and secure.
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