The mechanics of language creation are of course just as important as the language created in terms of defining cultural space and determining where one can or would want to fit into a larger, very diverse yet constantly changing society and culture. The rolling of the r's referenced in the title of the novel is significant as a sign of mechanical mastery, and of being able to claim (or not claim) at will any of the specific aspects of the various cultural identities that these children must contend with in terms of conformity. In other words, the greater skill there is in the mechanical manipulation of language, the less others will be able to use language to define the students and the more the students will be able to define their own cultural space and identity. Language is a marker of culture, so greater scope means greater fluidity.

Popular culture, which meant American culture specifically in much of the world in the 1970s and in the newest state of the Union, is also extremely important to the central characters of the novel, which might at first seem at odds with their drive for independence and the self-creation of identity. When one examines the specific elements of pop culture...

Though American culture was the dominant culture at the time and thus the one that might seem to provide the greatest pressure towards conformity, it was also a culture that stressed individuality, freedom, and the sexuality that was burgeoning in the characters during their early adolescence. When these schoolchildren imitate Charlie's Angels, they are not simply idolizing American television characters but rather are emulating strong and independent figures that are at once outcasts yet that are revered for their talents and actions. These are the identities that the children are truly seeking -- outside the bounds of conformity, yet within the bounds of respect -- and it is truly only in American pop culture that such possibilities exist. They certainly do not exist in "real" American culture wherever that might be found, nor in the more diverse yet still culturally-pressurized world of Honolulu in the 1970s.
Rolling the R's deals with many of the same themes of heavier post-colonial literature, but from a very different perspective. Rather than the fragmentation of identity being presented solely as a barrier, it provides the characters of this book with many opportunities. This also exposes the reader to a new appreciation for language and culture.