During his childhood, Ishmael was an imaginative and naïve boy who was close to his father Art Chambers, a respected newspaperman. He helped out his father once in a while with the newspaper. In addition he has an intense relationship with Hatsue Imada, a Japanese American born in San Piedro. They both go to the same school and have deep, passionate feelings about San Piedro and particularly the cedar tree where they meet each other often. In fact, Ishmael was obsessed with Hatsue due his constant spying on her while she was working at home or on the field. Consequently, Ishmael realizes how much Hatsue means to him and eventually falls in love with her.
Hence, by the time both Ishmael and Hatsue are in their late teenage years, they have been meeting secretly in the cedar tree which is particularly hard on Hatsue due to their different religions, moral beliefs, and cultural upbringing. She believes that each action has a consequence on her soul. However, Ishmael is happy with her and wants to marry her. On the other hand, Hatsue realizes she does not love him and therefore refuses to marry him which leaves Ishmael confused. He eventually goes to fight in WWII against the Japanese; meanwhile, Hatsue and her family are transferred to a Japanese internment camp. During this time, Hatsue decides to end the relationship in a letter after inferring that she not only deceived her family, but herself as well. Subsequently, she also falls in love with Kabuo and eventually marries him. The letter infuriates and confuses Ishmael causing his hatred for not only Hatsue but also all the Japanese Americans in general. It is during his service in the war that Ishmael begins to develop coldness toward others and distances himself. The loss of his arm in the war may symbolically represent the loss of Ishmael’s ability to relate to others and the loss of racial and ethnic tolerance his father had instilled in him.
After the war and during his adult life, Ishmael is soon confronted with the choice between doing what is right by saving Kabuo and enacting his revenge against Hatsue by allowing her husband's imprisonment. He knows the evidence he has found would definitely prove Kabuo innocent, but at the same time he knows that if Kabuo is freed, then his chances of getting back together with Hatsue would be ruined forever. Eventually reaching the decision to come forward with the evidence finally enables him to move on from the past, recovering from the wounds of romantic rejection and war. Ishmael's decision to act is a heroic one, since it demonstrates his newfound moral superiority compared to the other islanders who remain mired in silence and prejudice. Moreover, sitting in his father’s chair, Ishmael finds the strength to fill the place left vacant by his father's death.
Therefore, Ishmael goes through a striking transformation in which he goes from an optimistic and idealistic boy to a cold and antisocial man after the war and finally into a strong leader in the end. Ishmael also finally abandons his naïveté and idealism, accepting that the world is an imperfect place ruled as much by accident, chance, and fate as it is by choice. Ishmael chooses to live up to Mr. Fukida's belief that his "heart is strong" and to fulfill Hatsue's prophecy that he will "do great things."
