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****SPOILER ALERT****
At the very beginning of the book, A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen, Gerta is your typical nine year old girl. She thinks that everything an everyone will be just fine, only because her mother said so. In fact, she's so gullible, she didn't suspect the Wall at all. "I had no warning the night the Wall went up." Gerta takes everything for granted and never expected anything as bad as losing half her family.
The wall sliced Gerta's family in half. Now that her brother and father are on the other side of Berlin and aren't allowed to come back to be with the rest of their family, Gerta has gone under a few different changes. She definitely doesn't see eye to eye with the Stasi officers. Gerta's really not so sweet anymore and knows that survival should be her number one priority, not worrying about the wall. She's passionate for the small amount of food she shares with her brother and mom.
Gerta is really hardened by the wall and the Stasi officers. She acts bitter and petty towards them and even talks back to one of them. ""I know you," he said. "You're the girl who watches the wall on her way to school." "Well, it's pretty hard to miss the wall, sir." She even thinks to herself that she knows she'll never be safe for a long, long while.
Now that Gerta has escaped the Wall and is back with the whole family, she really knows the true meaning of her life. That meaning is to stand up for what she wants, not what the Stasi want. Gerta is determined to stay free at this point and she knows that to do that, she's going to need to be bold. ""My darling daughter," he said. "So brave. So bold."" She also finds a sentimental side of herself and wants to stay with her family forever. "The sun never rises in the west, but that day it did. For me and my family."
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