Redemption has been an immense topic among many Hollywood movies. In real life this road to redemption is not as glamorous and fairytale-like as it is made out to be on the big screen. In the novel The Wars, the author, Timothy Findley develops the idea that an individual such as Robert Ross, who is guilt-ridden, attempts to atone for his past through his present actions. He shows this through Robert's decisions as he progresses through his campaign in World War One. Robert joins the army to save lives, so that he can redeem his past mistake of not saving his sister's life. .
The motivation for self-redemption stems from Robert's guilt. The guilt comes from Robert's failure to take care of his sister Rowena, which inevitably leads to her death. Robert was in charge of taking care of Rowena while their parents were out of the house. During that time Rowena was outside with her rabbits. Robert was inside the house fooling around and was not paying attention to her. When Rowena fell out of her wheelchair, Robert was not there to notice and help. Since Rowena had hydrocephalus, her falling out of the wheelchair led to her death. Robert feels that he was solely to blame for her death. When Robert is given the opportunity to rid himself of the guilt he holds for Rowena's death by killing her favorite possession, her pet rabbits. He cannot bring himself to do it. This demonstrates how strong he feels guilt and shows that when given a chance to move on he is incapable of doing so. Guilt can overwhelm one's mind to a point where it affects all aspect of one's everyday choices. In Roberts's situation, the guilt he feels forces him to live a life in which he is always seeking redemption. .
When Robert joins the army, he sees a chance to redeem his past mistake. With so much loss and tragedy on the battlefields, Robert presumes that if he saves a life in the war that it will help him relieve the guilt he feels.