What specific situation? There are too many to count, and it would depend on the context. But I would say that generally it would arise from recognition of the impact of whatever he/she had done to require redemption, and a desire to right that wrong.
A man's dog is barking in the garden, so he goes outside and kicks it. When he hears the dog yelp, he realises he has allowed his anger to get out of control and decides to see a therapist for anger management advice. Not a great example, but the dog was barking in the garden at the time so I went with that. (I didn't kick it...) I don't know how this helps you though. Presumably you understand the concept of redemption, so I don't know why a specific example would help you write your story. Unless you want an example which you can slot in to your story, which nobody will be able to provide as we're not the ones writing your story.
What is your book about? If you could give us some context, we could work with that. Or do you just want general examples for examples' sake? Examples from books/TV?
He hates thieves, until he's dropped into a place in life where he has to steal to survive. He rapes a woman and sees nothing wrong with it (drunk, young, she was a tease, whatever he tells himself to justify) and then his baby sister is raped and he sees the other side. He makes fun of people for having disabilities, then gets in a car accident and becomes one of those people. He looks down on poor people until he becomes one. He thinks it's okay to cheat on his girlfriend because he's not hurting anyone if no one knows, and then she finds out. I can come up with hundreds of arbitrary examples, but I have no idea how this can possibly be helpful. Give us something to work with, and then maybe we can help.
WIP#1 - Marco is a murderer. We find him at the beginning of the story in a place (both physical and psychological) where he has accepted that "this is my life, these were my choices, and I totally agree that I deserve this punishment". And then he finds himself at the center of a situation where he is literally mankind's only hope. The only way he can succeed is to redeem himself because no one will ever know of these new deeds and actions, no one will ever be the external locus of his redemption. It has to be from himself.
Driving under the influence and causing a fatal car wreck. Having an affair with the spouse's sibling or best friend (and getting caught). Developing an addiction to heroin, getting into drug smuggling, then going to prison for twenty years. Getting fired at work for stealing girl scout cookies from a coworker. I could sit here all day and think'em up.
Literally any situation where someone realizes they've done something wrong and want to do something to right it.
I'd read this one. Was he fired after stealing one too many times? Does he seek to return to his job? Make it up to the coworker? Escape the wrath of the Girl Scouts who sell protection to their customers and uphold it with billy clubs made during arts & crafts? Lots of intrigue there. On topic...facing one's own mortality is a pretty good impetus for redemption, if cliched to shit.
A way to look at redemption is to look at where the word came from & what it really means at its base. Redemption means to 'buy back'. Whatever happens, the person is 'buying back' into the good graces of who/what.
So you need context? Fine. My character [probably a former policeman] wants to redeem himself after killing an innocent person (or indirectly leading to that person demise). He feels responsible for what's happened. The situation eventually gives him trouble sleeping. He travelled around the world to find the way to make this all stop. He tried many things, yet he still couldn't achieve inner peace. [now comes the part I haven't truly invented yet) Until he is found by a certain man, who shows him a better path. He tells him that if he devotes his mind and body to the greater cause, he may be able to find peace. By the greater cause he means fighting for freedom. In that moment main character realizes that there is still hope for him. Now, my problem is that I don't think that anyone can relate to this whole situation. I mean, isn't this concept a little bit fetched?
Sure, not everyone can relate to killing someone, but everyone has done something that they wish they could undo. Getting people to relate to your character has more to do with the character than the situation. I don't know of anyone that's ever fought a super powered alien in their underwear (the alien is not the one in the underwear) while trying to save a cat, but pretty much everyone that watches Alien can relate to Ripley.
I don't think it's far fetched necessarily, though it brings to mind him finding religion or joining a cult. Of course there's nothing wrong with that, if that's how you think it should go. I'm pretty sure The Neverending Story, Star Wars, The Fifth Element, etc. (sorry, my brain is on movies for some reason) were all pretty damned far-fetched - but they made us believe them. As a writer, you get to do the same thing, only you don't have to deal with makeup, lights, and prissy actors. Don't ask if it's far fetched - ask how best to make it believable and then do that.
Far fetched? Not at all. This is the basis for countless stories, books, movies, tv shows, etc. For the example, here is a tip that may help: The reader needs to have hope in your character. Hope means not doing anything in cold blood. So really, an innocent is the easiest way to achieve hope in your readers. He kills the crackhead that is breaking into houses & abducting children. Cool. More power to you. No real need for redemption for most people's minds. He tracks the crackhead to a warehouse and accidentl kills one of the children that was abducted. Ugh. Oh no. We, the audience, see it was a mistake, he doesn't. We have hope he can turn his life around. We are rooting for him to come around. We can all relate to doing something on accident, taking it extremely personal, then getting over it. You need to make the reader be on his side from the beginning for most readers to be invested enough to care.
Thank you all. After a little research, I think I figured how to improve this story: Main Character doesn't kill a criminal, which leads to death of the innocent. This innocent person died just because of Main Character moral code. Rest goes the same way. He feels responsible for what's happened, even though he didn't do anything wrong. Despite that he wants to redeem himself. So what do you think? Is it believable?
Well, yes, it sounds just as believable as the way you had it before, except now it's a little more mundane. This is the premise for nearly every episode of every crime drama ever. Some poor innocent person dies and then they have to find the killer, many times it ends up being someone they had in their grasp previously, but because of laws/mishaps they couldn't take him out or lock him up. I liked it better the other way. To be clear though - it doesn't matter what we think. If you believe it - make the reader believe it. That's all that has to happen.
I don't think relatability comes from the situation so much as the character's reaction to it and the struggles they go through afterward. Personally, nothing makes a character more relatable than when I'm reading about them in situation X, I think "I'd say/do Y here", I turn the page, and the character has said/done Y. Sure, most people can't relate to causing the death of an innocent. My main protagonist gave a poorly worded order that--in combination with flawed intel and the rapidly shifting nature of battle--led to the obliteration of a village and the death of all 187 native villagers. I sure hope people can't relate to that. But maybe they can relate to her being wracked by guilt, regret, and self-loathing. Maybe they can relate to her resolving to never be the woman she was, and dedicating her life to protecting common folk like the ones she failed. Maybe they can relate to her being put in a similar situation to the one that started it all, and consciously rejecting the logic that led to her earlier, disastrous choice.
I'm not going to hold back anymore. This thread (especially the last post) makes me want to tell people to go watch the documentary Fog of War. There is a point where some of the higher ups in charge during Vietnam war break down and seek redemption. It is pretty powerful. You can see on their faces how the guilt has eaten them for decades.
It's a little vague on context, but I think that if the MC's moral code leads to innocent deaths and you're working for a redemption arc, there needs to be a change in the code over the course of the story. With the character I mentioned earlier, she originally was very "ends justify the means." She thought a few innocent deaths would be worth ending a rebellion and saving tens of thousands more. Seeing the consequences of her actions completely changes her outlook. The rejection of sacrificing some innocents to possibly save more innocents down the line becomes a big part of her character.
Just telling people to watch Fog of War. I wanted to say it earlier but the post above mine gave me a good reason to say it. That is all, sorry to get people excited.
