Arthur Chambers Character Analysis in Snow Falling on Cedars

Ishmael Chambers’s late father. He was the founder and sole reporter of San Piedro’s only newspaper, the San Piedro Review. Before his death from cancer, he was a highly regarded member of the island community. Before becoming a reporter, Arthur fought in World War I and later worked as a logger. In life, Arthur was well-read and a lifelong learner. He believed that truth isn’t immediately apparent—often, people have to look deeply and carefully to discern truths that lurk in the gray areas of life. Arthur tried to make his son, Ishmael, see the truth in this way, too, but his son was obstinate and unconvinced of his father’s philosophies on truth versus facts. After Pearl Harbor, while other most islanders became very prejudiced against people of Japanese descent, Arthur wrote newspaper stories that drew on the positive contributions of the island’s Japanese community.

Arthur Chambers Quotes in Snow Falling on Cedars

The Snow Falling on Cedars quotes below are all either spoken by Arthur Chambers or refer to Arthur Chambers. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

An unflagging loyalty to his profession and its principles had made Arthur, over the years, increasingly deliberate in his speech and actions, and increasingly exacting regarding the truth in even his most casual reportage. He was, his son remembered, morally meticulous, and though Ishmael might strive to emulate this, there was nevertheless the matter of the war—this matter of the arm he’d lost—that made such scrupulosity difficult.

Related Characters: Ishmael Chambers, Arthur Chambers

Page Number and Citation: 34-35

Explanation and Analysis:

Ishmael Chambers reflects on his late father as a man and as a reporter. When Arthur returned to San Piedro from serving in WWI, he founded and wrote for the San Piedro Review. After Arthur’s death from cancer, Ishmael assumed his father’s position at the paper, but he performs this inherited role with considerably less success and care than his father did. For Arthur, the principles of journalism were a reflection of the principles of life. In life and in journalism, Arthur believed, every decision one makes has the ability to shape and transform the world. When Guterson writes that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam q

“Not every fact is just a fact,” he added. “It’s all a kind of…balancing act. A juggling of pins, all kinds of pins, that’s what journalism is about.”

“That isn’t journalism,” Ishmael answered. “Journalism is just the facts.”

[…]

“But which facts?” Arthur asked him. “Which facts do we print, Ishmael?”

Related Characters: Arthur Chambers (speaker), Ishmael Chambers (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 188

Explanation and Analysis:

In the aftermath of the Japanese military’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Ishmael, then a teenager, helps his father, Arthur, decide which stories to print in the San Piedro Review. The Japanese attack resulted in increased displays of prejudice against San Piedro’s Japanese population, so Arthur has made it a point to publish stories that highlight the loyalty of San Piedro’s Japanese citizens. His decision to do so leads to accusations that he favors the Japanese. Ishmael, too, is skeptical of his father’s selective truth-telling: “that isn’t journalism,” he protests. “Journalism is just about the facts.” But Arthur possesses a more Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex co

Arthur Chambers Character Timeline in Snow Falling on Cedars

The timeline below shows where the character Arthur Chambers appears in Snow Falling on Cedars. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The Psychological Impact of War Theme Icon

Ishmael’s newfound love of books led him to pursue journalism as a career. Ishmael’s father, Arthur, had also been a journalist, though he was a logger when he was Ishmael’s... (full context)

From this point on, Arthur committed himself fully to observing and reporting on San Piedro, knowing that doing so gave... (full context)

Ishmael stops daydreaming about Arthur and redirects his thoughts to the morning of Carl’s death. The morning of September 16,... (full context)

...Ishmael remembers that Hatsue was crowned the Strawberry Princess at the 1941 Strawberry Festival. Ishmael’s father, Arthur Chambers, had covered the event for the local paper. Ishmael watched as Arthur took... (full context)

...the Amity Harbor Buddhist Chapel when she hears about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Hatsue’s father consults with his friends Mr. Oshiro and Mr. Nishi over the phone. He learns from... (full context)

Ishmael’s father publishes the paper’s first war extra. It reads “ISLAND DEFENSE. SET!” and describes the steps... (full context)

Hatsue approaches Ishmael as he reads his father’s war extra. Hatsue tells Ishmael that her family’s bank accounts have been frozen—they have no... (full context)

Later in the week, Ishmael helps his father with the paper, taking phone calls. The county sheriff calls, concerned about Japanese farmers keeping... (full context)

Arthur also writes a story about men who had joined the “civilian defense auxiliary fire force.”... (full context)

Arthur continues to be selective in “which facts” he publishes, actively drawing his readers’ attention to... (full context)

...Japanese descent had eight days to prepare to leave.” The Japanese islanders prepare to depart. Arthur runs multiple stories in the paper sympathizing with their predicament, and gets a phone call... (full context)

...is lost in thought. Ed Soames thinks that Ishmael is “a strange bird.” Ed and Arthur Chambers had been pals, “but the boy was not someone you could speak to.” (full context)

...to understand the hardships he’s endured. He compares the differences in their grieving processes when Arthur had died. His mother’s grief had made her “cold,” but she’s still sought happiness. Ishmael,... (full context)

...connections, to enjoy the sensations of living. Ishmael, she observes, has gone “numb.” Even Ishmael’s father, who’d fought at Bellau Wood, had managed to move on with his life. (full context)

...and thinks about the baseball pennant collection he’d had as a boy. He and his father had both liked baseball and would listen to games on the radio together. (full context)

Ishmael’s thoughts turn to his father’s death. Arthur had pancreatic cancer, and had died in Seattle. Over 100 islanders had turned... (full context)

...of “disgust” and lack of “respect.” He used sex to avoid his unhappiness and loneliness. Arthur informed him of his sickness soon after these escapades, and Ishmael hasn’t been with a... (full context)

...Review that Hatsue asked him to write—though not for the noble reasons that would’ve motivated Arthur Chambers to do so. Of course, Arthur would’ve also shown the coast guard’s logs to... (full context)

...the return of the electricity with Nels, who tells him how much he liked Ishmael’s father. “Arthur was one admirable man,” says Nels. Ishmael agrees and parts ways with Nels. (full context)

...how unfair Kabuo’s trial was. She tells Ishmael he needs to write about it “in [Arthur’s] newspaper.” Ishmael says it’s not “[his] father’s newspaper.” It’s his newspaper. He tells Hatsue he’ll... (full context)

...to listen for pipes thawing. His mother goes to bed and Ishmael sits in his father’s study, looking over his father’s books. There are a lot of virtuous, philosophizing volumes on... (full context)

Ishmael continues to reflect on his father’s life and legacy. Arthur had gone into the logging profession backed by thoughts of grandeur,... (full context)

Arthur was meticulous in everything he did, and he acknowledged the gray areas of life. This... (full context)

Ishmael recalls when he’d gone with his father to cover the Strawberry Festival. It was a beautiful, picturesque day. His father took a... (full context)

...a.m. She says that Hatsue is there for him. Hatsue and Ishmael talk in his father’s study. She tells him how much he looks like his father. Then, she tells him... (full context)

Arthur Chambers Character Analysis

Arthur Chambers Quotes in Snow Falling on Cedars

Chapter 4 Quotes

Chapter 13 Quotes

Arthur Chambers Character Timeline in Snow Falling on Cedars