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1. How did Barbara Kingsolver get Buster?

Buster was a hermit crab Barbara Kingsolver brought back to Tucson after a visit to the Bahamas. She put the crab in with the shells and rocks she had collected, and her daughter found the crab when they got home.

2. What was Buster's 'personality' like?

As Barbara Kingsolver describes him, 'Buster' would lie dormant for long periods, and she would think that he was dead, but then he would move about frantically, so that she described him as manic-depressive. This turns out to be consistent with hermit crab behavior.

3. What does the title of this essay signify?

The high tide of Tucson is the concept that the hermit crab's behavior is dictated by tides it used to feel in the ocean in the Bahamas, but in Tucson the tides are far away. When the Crab's behavior is still predictable, Barbara Kingsolver wonders whether it can feel the tides even in Tucson.

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