Kendall Busse

Professor Hannah Jorgenson

English 114B Spring
20 February, 2014
Frozen Waste Land
It was a very cold and crisp morning. It had snowed the night before, but now that the
wind has picked up, it is nothing more than rock, solid ice. I awake when the wind begins to
blow through the shattered window in the kitchen. Its not quite as cold as it was yesterday, but it
is still rather chilly. I walk over to the kitchen to see if there is anything salvageable to make
some breakfast. There is a can of beans, a twinkly, some trail mix, and a pack of stale strawberry
Pop Tarts. I take the Pop Tarts and begin to open one. Once the wrapper begins to make noise, I
hear Hunter stirring in the other room. Not even two minutes after he awakens I hear, Charlie I
better be getting one of those!.
Yea, yea there is one more in the box. Want some beans? The stove works here, so I can
heat them up.
Hunter nods so I begin to heat up the beans. As I heat the beans, I begin to think of the
times when life was easier. When Mom and Dad were alive, before Russia had its freeze, and
before I became Mom. The hole in the Ozone layer is one of the cause of the freeze in Russia
and China. Chinas poor air quality and polluted oceans caused the gapping hole which caused
the freeze. Once the freeze began, people began to panic. The government began to crack down
on the gas supply and food. Since there is no ground to really grow anything, fruit and vegetables
became very sacred. They come and collect a large amount of taxes which makes most of us
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poor. The worst part of it all, is that Russia could end the freeze. It is all caused by the dumping
of too much trash into the ocean. Once the oceans pH balance began to get thrown off, thats
when the fun began for them.
When are the beans ready? Im starving over here! shouts Hunter from the other room.
Two more minutes.
After we finish our breakfast and get ready for the day, we begin the day with hunting.
Hunter is a very good hunter. He can shoot anything that comes within 500 yards. Everyday we
go into the frozen forest and seek out animals that are still alive within. We usually can find
some foxes and bunnies and other small creatures. Once in awhile though, we find a lion or
something. We usually climb up and Hunter will kill it with one shot to the head. They never
even see it coming.
While we sit and wait for the animals, Hunter and I talk about how we wished the world
could be back to the way it was before. Sun shining bright and warming the ground under our
feet. We always talk about putting a stop to the dumping but we dont want to go to war. There is
always talk of war. No one ever actually does it though.
As we are sitting talking trash about the government, we see a boy coming in the
distance. No one ever comes in the woods though. I look at Hunter and he understands my
reaction. We duck and stay low as we army crawl to the tree that isn't far from where we are.
People you find in the forest might not always be the nicest people, especially if they do belong
to the war efforts, they might mistaken you as spies.
Right as we reached the tree I was helping Hunter scale the tree when all of a sudden
something stuck me in the back. It was a throbbing pain that went straight into my spin. I
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immediately dropped Hunter and was hunched over rubbing my back. A voice from behind me
yelled Are you spies?.
No we are just here hunting. Hunter was yelling at the man behind me.
Its dangerous to be out here in the forest you know.
We know, but we dont have enough money to pay for the food they sell in the
markets.
My name is Kyle whats yours and your friends?
My name is Charlie, and thanks to you I might have hurt my spine!
Kyle chuckled and explained Oh, youll be fine,3 I could have hit you way harder. But
since you are a girl I thought better of myself.
Oh, I should feel so lucky then. I said as I grabbed Hunter and began to collet his gun,
a foot stepped right along the shaft.
Where do you think you are going? Kyle said in a very demanding voice. I could tell
by his tone that I better be pretty crafty with my answer.
We are heading home, I think we have had enough hunting for one day. Plus its getting
pretty dark. Theres no need for two kids to be out in the forests by themselves at night.
Here why don't you and, wait come to think of it you never told me the boys name?
What is your name?
This is my bother Hunter I responded very matter of factly.
Okay, well why don't you and your brother come have dinner with some of my friends?
We have plenty of food to go around. We live in a cabin just a few miles from here?
I dont think thats a good idea, I think we out be getting home. Hunter needs to finish up
some things before we head off to bed. I hoped he would buy it so we didn't have to go. Its
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never smart to trust a man you meet in a forest to take your to his home for dinner. You might
end up being a part of something you never wanted to be apart of.
Come on Charlie, lets go. Its been forever since weve been out for dinner. Hunter
pleaded with those adorable puppy eyes. Mom taught him well.
Fine, but we can only stay for an hour or two.
We began the walk to Kyle's cabin. As we were walking he was telling us all about living
in the woods. He tells us that the government doesnt know anyone lives there so his family
never has to pay any taxes. He also was telling us about how upset he was with the capital and
how appalling it is that they would let their people live in such horrible conditions. As he spoke
about his dislike for the government, I was starting to agree with him. It is the governments fault
that we are all in such a terrible place. If the government would just move their dumping else
where, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. Kyle then began explaining that he
knew of some people heading to the dumpsite that night to go and stop the dumping. Hunter gave
me a the look, this look told me that he had other plans than just going home tonight.
Lets go, lets go and stop the dumping. I want to be a part of it, and I know that Hunter
does as well. Take us with you when you go? I asked, almost sounding like I was begging.
Are you sure thats what you want? Your brother and yourself are pretty young to jump
into a rebellion, especially after just meeting me?
This is what weve been waiting for Kyle. Take us with you.. Kyle had no choice but to
take us with him. I was as confident and as stern as a seventeen year old girl could be. Kyle gave
me the slightest nod. That nod was my chance to make my mark. To let the government know
that I am not some person whose life they can just ruin without a fight. I wanted to fight for my
life, and the chance to make it what I wanted, and this was my chance.
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Dinner was some meat, very rare corn, canned beans, and some bread. There was not
much conversation through dinner. It was rather quiet. Hunter was starving so he devoured his
food. Kyle kept his eyes on his plate. We never once made eye contact. I think he was beginning
to realize that we were going to war. He could have also been mad. Fighting the anger until the
moment was right. Thats what I was doing. I was ready for battle. After dinner we began to
gather all of the things we needed before we left for the attack. Kyle had an extra gun that I could
use. He even gave me some pointers in the backyard so I could know at least the basics of how to
use a gun.
Kyle, Hunter, and myself began the walk that would lead us to meet the other people who
will be part of the attack. We were getting close to the pier where the ocean had not yet frozen
over. The walk took about 5 hours and my feet were freezing. It must be twenty below. We saw
some people from across the walk. We couldn't walk over there because there were people
patrolling the docks. I turn around to see the man across the dock at the exact moment that he
shot the two guards blocking the entrance of the dock. Thanks to that man the path was open.
Hundreds of people sprinted towards the entrance. Guns in hand ready for a battle. I was one of
those people ready for battle tonight.
Once on the dock, I managed to fight off two guards. I shot them both. I look to my left
and I see Hunter made it to a roof top of one of the buildings and was shooting from a birds eye
view. I look to my right and I see Kyle and a huge group of people running to a building on the
other side of the dock. The longer that I stare at this building, I slowly begin to realize that it is
no building, this is a house. A house that holds all the people responsible for the chaos and
pollution they have caused. The people responsible for the freeze. I began to feel my feet slowly
beginning to run in the direction of the house. I guess my feet knew where I was going before I
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did. Once inside, all I could hear was people screaming. No gunshots, but everyone screaming.
Begging and pleading for help. I see that everyone was gathering up all of the people who run
the government. They were collecting them, not hunting them. Once the last person was found, I
see that Kyle was the leader of the group. Hello killers. You have caused quite a bit of damage
to our oceans you know. I myself have never really been one for cold weather. I prefer the
weather to be around sixty degrees for at least six months out of the year. But you all took that
away from me. So I am going to give you a choice, you can either stay and fix the problems that
you all have caused, or you can go. Keep walking until I never have to see any of your
despicable faces in this place again.
None of the people moved. They all stayed and nodded in agreement. This meant that we
had won. We were going to have a chance at a healthy Earth. A heathy country. A country who
has seasons other than winter. All because I finally took a chance.







Rhetorical Analysis
Dystopian Fiction is based off of the un-perfect world. This world is everything that
would cause a person to be the at their most miserable time. This genre explains how a person
living in such a horrible state, can either come up and fight the person appressing them, or they
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become the reluctant hero who is forced to take action based on things that they are not able to
control. The current issue that my short story, Frozen Waste Land, is addressing, is the issue of
global warming. Global warming is a growing problem in todays society. We are causing this
global warming due to pollution, lack of care for our planet, and effects of bipolar weather. This
short story will address all of these topics and help give a further understanding of the problem at
hand.
When it comes to our oceans, we do not take all of the proper precautions to keep it clean
and unpolluted. There have been multiple oils spills that has happened throughout the world in
the last decade. The most recent oil spill happened in the Canadian Pacific. It was caused by a
bad valve. CNN posted an article that explained all the details and all procedures that they would
do to fix the problem. This bad valve has caused a huge spill that has leaked all over the ocean.
The valve spilled over sixty-five gallons of oil states CNN. This is horrible for the ocean and the
animals that inhabit that part of the ocean. When oil spills happen in our ocean, it causes a
multitude of issues. It causes harm to the animals that are inhabiting that part of our ocean. They
are forced to breath all of the toxic chemicals that are inside of the oil. It also causes problems
with the improper balance of chemicals inside our ocean water. The ocean has a lot to do with
the weather. These oil spills could be one of the many causes that provoke fluctuations with the
weather. Thankfully, due to the amount of oil spills that have been caused, there are
precautionary steps to clean up the oil that has been spilt into the ocean. There are also countless
scientist working on better methods of getting the oil out of the water. There are also
investigators that go to where the oil spills occurred and see if there is anything to be learned
from this particular spill. Once the causes have been studied, this information could be used to
help prevent oil spills from happening in other parts of the world. In the short story, Frozen
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Waste Land, the dumping of trash causes an in balance in the oceans water levels which causes
the land of Russia to go into an ice age. Everything froze over. Charlie explains that the pH
balance in the water was not at the proper level, causes a fluctuation of sorts.
The lack of care that people give our planet is unacceptable. In parts of Central America,
people are tearing down forrest to aid their drug movements to different markets. The
deforestation is not good for our planet. As time goes on, the deforestation of the land increases
rapidly. It has almost quadrupled between the years of 2007 and 2011. As the amount of forest
lost increases, more drugs will be transported to different countries to be sold along the black
market. There is no government in these countries to help solve the problems either. The
government officials are being bribed or do not have access to the power that they need to help
solve this ever growing problem. In Frozen Waste Land the government dumps all sorts of
things into the ocean that do not belong. This is a perfect example of how the government does
not care. They were only looking for a easy and accessible place to dump their trash, and in
dumping their trash, they find out about the reproductions and use it to their advantage. The
governments lack of care for the government turn into their weapon. They used it against their
people for personal gain. Charlie also explains to use that the hole in the Ozone layer is one of
the causes of the freeze (Busse 2). This is due to the poor air quality in China. Chinas stance on
the care of their air quality is unacceptable. That is why the lack of care is needing a turn-around.
If humans expect to have a beautiful, clean aired, and healthy planet, we must treat it and keep it
that way.
When hot and and cold air meet, that causes our weather. When extreme cold and hot air
meet, that is when we get unusual the weather. Over one-hundred and twenty million people are
being affect by this storm says Tom Watkins who wrote an article on CNN. The states in the
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upper Northeast and Northwest have been experiencing sever cold conditions. They are
experiencing weather conditions up to forty degrees below the average. That also explains why
the Western states have been experiencing warmer conditions than normal. It is all from when
the air meets. The more sever the air is, the more sever the weather will be. In Frozen Waste
Land the air problem is due to the ocean mostly, but the weather causes complications for the
people who are living in Russia. Since the ground is frozen over, it is difficult to grow fruits and
vegetables, have gas to power all of the houses, and enough supplies to tend to all of the citizens.
This explains why the government issues taxes and high gas prices. At the same time, if the
government toke better care of its land and oceans, the people of its town would not be so poor
and the country as a whole would not feel the need for such taxation because the country would
be prosperous due to the wonderful things that could have been produced.
Planet Earth is not at our disposable. Humans can not treat the plant poorly and expect
the planet to sustain its natural beauty. The plant requires care and solutions to problems such as
pollution. If people would stop polluting, especially into the oceans, the world would be a much
better place for all people to live in. We must figure out solutions to solve this problems that live
in our world today. Charlie, Kyle, and Hunters only solution was to take down their government
in order to bring back the care for our oceans and to stop the polluting that was causing their
fluctuation of the weather.