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Chapter 7
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Night Divided, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Freedom
Family
Secrets, Surveillance, and Suspicion
Individuality vs. Conformity
Hope and Risk
Summary
Analysis
Gerta remembers how Mama and some of the other women used to keep a garden in the small plot of earth behind the apartment building. But during one period of shortage, the food was stolen by passersby. Mama stopped gardening after that, but she still has her old shovel. After school, Gerta goes into the basement to find the shovel. There, she wonders what Papa meant by his dance. Could he have some buried treasure somewhere nearby?
Gerta’s thought to disguise her digging as gardening reinforces her intelligence and resourcefulness. It also shows just how cautious people in East Germany must be not to appear to be doing anything the government would frown upon. In this culture of conformity, a person can get in serious trouble for doing anything deemed out of the ordinary—and one never knows who is watching and might be inclined to alert the Stasi of any unusual activity.
Themes
Later, at supper that night, Mama shares some sad news: Peter was caught trying to cross the border last night and “didn’t make it.” The Stasi are allowing Anna’s family a day off work to mourn. Mama says this tragic event should be a reminder to everyone about what happens if you try to escape: “You die.” Gerta suddenly becomes worried about Fritz, who hasn’t yet returned from work. Could Fritz have tried to escape, too? When Gerta confesses that Fritz knew about Peter’s plan, Mama is immediately alarmed and puts on her coat, then she and Gerta make their way to Fritz’s work, where he’s employed as a bricklayer.
Mama’s sad news about Peter shows just how dangerous it is to attempt an escape from East Germany—it can cost a person their life. Tension builds as readers—and Mama and Gerta—remain in the dark about Fritz’s whereabouts. Although he might not have attempt an escape himself, his association with Peter—a traitor to the East German nationalist cause—makes him guilty of treason himself in the government’s eyes.
Themes
Mama and Gerta arrive at Fritz’s work and don’t find him there. Mama has a tense, quiet discussion with the foreman, then she and Gerta make their way home. There, Mama tells Gerta what the foreman told her: the Stasi took Fritz away, suspecting that he was involved in Peter’s attempted escape. Apparently it was only for questioning, but nobody can know if this is true. Just then, Mama tells Gerta to go to bed: she’s going to walk next door to Herr Krause’s house to see if anything can be done about Fritz.
Themes
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