Often a child wishes that he or she was grown up and independent. An adolescent has even stronger desires to become independent; this is because an adolescent is on the brink of adulthood but not quite there. Adolescents may, at some times, attempt to become independent of their providers before they are truly ready. Sandra Cisneros, in The House on Mango Street, shows the struggle that many adolescents face as they stand on the brink of adulthood. At the brink is the desire to be out on their own and the need to be cared for by others. As Leslie Averbeck M.ed. says, "The bodies, minds and emotions of adolescents are entering unfamiliar territory faster than they can process or accommodate the changes" (381). Esperanza is a perfect example of this type of adolescent; she is, throughout the book, testing the "new waters" of independence and growth. At...