Character Analysis
Listen, Shmooper: Gertie keeps it real. Whether she's admitting that she doesn't know where Mexico is, laying claim to teaching E.T. to talk, or celebrating that accomplishment by giving him a makeover, there's no pretense about her. If E.T. is a film that celebrates the virtues of youth, Gertie's as virtuous as they come.
The Man from the Moon
Given her age, and because E.T. is a family film, she's also a stand-in for younger viewers. She goes through a range of emotions that are complex, but also ring true for a little girl. Initially, E.T. practically scares the yarn off her pigtails. She subsequently becomes both inquisitive and more than a little bit critical, as she asks whether E.T. is a boy or a girl—likely so she can make sense of him—and then insults his less-than-pedicured feet.
Ultimately, she's fiercely loyal to E.T. When E.T. meets her mom and Mom freaks out, Gertie comes to his defense, assuring her that E.T.'s not going to hurt her. After all, as Gertie explains, "He's the man from the moon!" This statement does nothing to assuage Mom's fears, but it makes perfect sense from Gertie's youthful perspective: E.T. is like a character from the best of children's fantasy, something exciting and new by which to be enchanted, not scared.
She's Not Stupid, You Know
Gertie's naiveté is occasionally played for laughs, but she's no fool. When Elliott goes over the plan to meet at the lookout on Halloween with her repeatedly, she meets his repetition with, "I'm not stupid, you know."
And she's not. She's an important cog in E.T.'s narrative wheel. It's Gertie who teaches E.T. to talk and subsequently let Elliot know that he needs to "phone home," and she's instrumental in the plan to get E.T. and his communicator to the forest so he can dial up his extra-terrestrial pals. It's Gertie who gifts E.T. with the geraniums that become a symbol of life throughout the movie and alert Elliott to E.T.'s resurrection.
The Age of Innocence
Of course, she's also the one who gives up Elliott and Michael's final plot to get E.T. to his spaceship by delivering an incriminating note to Mom right in front of Keys, but that's wholly unintentional. In fact, she thinks she's doing the right thing by asking if they're gone because her instructions were explicitly to not deliver the note until after they'd left. As a little kid, she's capable of subterfuge, but only light subterfuge. Ultimately, she wants to do the right thing, and her innocence is emblematic of the film's commendation of youth.