A Night Divided Character Analysis Essay

Akshobya Rao

7PA ELA O'Gorman

5/26/23
Unit 4: Human Rights Book Literary Analysis Throughout people’s lives, they are faced with many hurdles and obstacles that may seem too hard to overcome, however, with courage they are able to cross these boundaries and gain a better life. In the novel A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 8-year-old Gerta is stranded along with her mother and one of their brothers in communist East Germany, being separated from her father, an activist and her role model by the Berlin Wall. Now she is faced with a dire situation, having to take the mantle of her father and fight for freedom of expression. It is clear that courage is a very powerful trait that often allows people to do the impossible, as shown through

Early in the novel, Gerta is faced with many challenges pointing her towards not going through with the idea of tunneling, but through her courageous nature she finds the resolve and courage to still work on the tunnel. Gerta used to live a very peaceful life, along with her two brothers, her mother and her role model - her father. However, because of Russia’s control of East Germany and her father’s relationship with the police in East Germany, the Stasi, her life is turned upside down after the emergence of the Berlin Wall. Her life is put into shambles, and her resolve to escape only grows stronger, but a huge obstacle is thrown her way, where after Peter’s, Anna’s brother, attempts to escape, the text by Nielsen states, “‘I heard about Peter’s death yesterday’”(58). Gerta has wanted to escape ever since the first day with the wall, feeling that she was held up in a coop, not able to express herself or her own desires because of it. After Peter’s death, this resolve still doesn’t change due to her innate courage and resolve akin to her father, rather

After Gerta sees her father for the first time in years, waiting and longing for an opportunity to do so, she finally satisfies her desire, but as a result she is faced with another situation where she is forced to face a person that could single-handedly destroy her entire life. The novel by Nielsen illustrates this situation showing the true danger of Muller, where she states through him, “‘...[Those] who get curious about the other side sometimes get a taste of my bullets’”(28). Muller is a very dangerous and patronizing man, being brainwashed in a way, to do as East Germany and Russia orders, killing if required. However, knowing this well Gerta faces him, even proposing a deal with him later on that if not accepted would risk her not just her entire operation but her entire life. Gerta is once again faced with a similar situation with higher stakes later on in the book by Nielsen, after her tunnel is discovered by Muller, where it states through Muller’s perspective, “‘Whatever I decide, you must hurry… I will shoot as quickly as the others, so do not look to me for sympathy in that moment’”(173). Gerta is faced with a situation, where if she didn’t face Muller for the sake of her and her brother’s wellbeing, not only would their work be at stake but also their entire lives. But even in this high