Memory and History in William Least Heat-Moon’s “By the Big Sea Water”

Memory is contrasted against history in William Least Heat-Moon’s “By the Big Sea Water.” Propelled by the memory of his first taste, Heat-Moon embarks on a quest for the increasingly evasive cisco. Linking the fish to its home in Lake Superior, the essay patently promotes awareness for its rapid declination. Yet, the text is continually driven by a dominant recollection, in which he associates both the cisco fish and Lake Superior to a sort of timelessness. Paradoxically, Heat-Moon acknowledges the historical deterioration of nature while finding hope in his personal experiences. The cisco fish and Lake Superior of his memory are representative of more than a mere connection to nature. In spite of the seemingly inevitable doom of reality, memory serves to create the irrational belief in a future.