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1.) betwixt - (adv.) neither the one nor the other; in a middle or unresolved position (dictionary.com)

"So he set down on the ground betwixt me and Tom" (Twain 13).

2.) tanyard - (n.) An enclosure where the tanning of leather is carried on; a tannery (dictionary.com)

"He used to lay drunk with the hogs in the tanyard, but he hain't[sic] been seen in these parts for a year or more" (16).

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1.) "She told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. [...] I asked Ms. Watson to try for me, but she said I was a fool" (19).

This quote is a characterization of Huckleberry Finn. He is very independent and likes to strike out on his own or do the extraordinary. This is exemplified in his interest to take up smoking. He also believes in fantasy, as exemplified by the above quote. In the above quote, Huck heard that in prayer, he could get what he wanted. Yet, he did not get anything out of it, so he asked Ms. Watson to pray for him. Her reply was that he was a fool. However, Huck still is a child. Perhaps he was trying to play some game, or was led astray by his own imagination. With Huck being both independent and gullible, this be foreshadowing trouble in Huck's future. Maybe there will be a time when he needs help, but being so independent minded, he might refuse it. Perhaps his independence will lead him to follow his own imagination into trouble.

2.) "I had been to school most all the time, and could spell, and read, and write just a little, and could say the multiplication table up to six times seven is thirty-five, and I don't reckon I could get any further than that if I was to live forever" (24).

In this quote, Huck tells of his education. Later on, it would be learned that Huck's father was uneducated, and was jealous for that. Huck seems pretty pleased with his accomplishments, however, it seems that he had not accomplished much. For example, six times seven is forty-two, not thirty-five. Huck admitted soon after that he was not particularly good at math. What the reader ought to get out of this is the fact that he has at least some education. What this could mean is that he is not in such bad shape. His father was uneducated and became a drunkard. Yet, Huck has a better knowledge of what is right and wrong, as in the case during The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In that case, he and Tom busted Injun Joe for his crimes, and got plenty of the spoils that he had stolen. With an education, perhaps Huck could afford to be independent. His knowledge would have in it some basic life skills, and he would probably know more about how to conduct his life than his father did.