Thanks Steven for leading this complex chapter so well! (Work interfered or I would have been here earlier).
Why did Túrin accept an offer to join the band of outlaws so quickly? Did he fear that if he refused Forweg’s (Outlaw leader) offer that he might be killed? He did say that the men surrounding him had bows and arrows, and “some would find a deadly mark” (100). However, I seem to find that answer a bit too easy. I have a feeling that it was written in a way that makes Túrin appear to have some ulterior motive, but what is it? If I was put in a similar situation it would seem that it would be a ‘Join or Die’ type of ultimatum, but none of those men would be a match for Túrin, yes perhaps all at once, but no individual man would stand a chance. What was he trying to gain from joining? Do you get any similar feelings here? It seems here like somehow Turin may be echoing Hurin's past, glorified even more in Turin's kind, as a son of a hero. The habit of command, of armed men as an honorable charge even in the odd circumstances?

Why doesn’t he sneak away from them at night? He does say that being part of a group makes it easier to endure the harsh winter, but it is now spring, so why not leave? Is it because he lacks a place to go? Does he have any end-game in mind? Did he plan from the beginning (from when he decided to join) that he would eventually lead the group and try and change their wild ways? Agreed, it is an important question. I am reaching here maybe, but a lot of Turin's story in this chapter reminds me of the Robin Hood legend; not necessarily the entire modernized version with Robin as a fallen noble, but the older tales as perhaps JRRT might have read in Piers Plowman (especially knowing his love of alliterative poetry). But some of the kernel of the diamond-in-the-rough with a 'price on his head' (not that Turin did: but he thought he did, so de facto, yes) and a seemingly special pedestal for women, as well as associating with and sympathizing with men of a somewhat different and lower class and sensibility. I find intriguing on the 'class' notation that some of Morwen seems to shine through Turin: he deigns not to go to the Men of Haleth.

Túrin and Andróg returned to the camp to inform the members of Túrin’s slaying of Forweg This again returns us to this notion of membership. He offered them an ultimatum: that they should take him as their leader in Forweg’s place, or else to allow him to leave. However, it did not seem so simple as that. He offered to fight them all should they refuse either option. But Andróg, knowing Túrin’s skill at swordplay, saw the futility of allowing such a skirmish, and he knew how bloody the outcome would be. It seems that everything is falling into place for Túrin, that he is either getting lucky, or he planned to lead from the beginning. He did say that this offered him the opportunity to build himself a “free Lordship of his own” (106). The question is how much did he think he could accomplish with 50 or so men? The men and Turin seem to be hoping for something better here; with the oldest among them being Aglund and seeming to recall days of better honor and valor 'in youth'; so from the perspective for the outlaws, perhaps they see Turin as their salvation. And with Turin's psyche, in the story sense, one can see how this might appeal to him. From an authorial sense, I think the outlaws serve as Turin's first test as an adult: he doesn't pass it right away, but he becomes more ennobled when faced with their deeds. To fall far, he must rise first...is this his first step up?

When Beleg finally found Túrin with the Outlaws we finally see some of the thoughts that linger in Túrin’s mind. When Beleg tells him that Thingol has pardoned him and asks him to return, Túrin remains as proud as ever. He refuses to return not only because of his prideful nature, but also because of his growing attachment to the gang. He says that, “I love them in my own way, even the worst a little”. He says that there is a good part in all of them that it has the potential to grow. When he says this, do you think that this is an implicit way of Túrin saying that he will be the one who tries to germinate this goodness? To try and make these rough men noble again? Possibly yes I do. I think that would have appealed very much to Turin. And I am not sure about his feeling of 'safety' versus 'imprisonment' in Doriath. I am jumping ahead a bit, but I find the line that Turin later says to Mim ("You may die, but you shall not be set in bonds again") some sort of self-revelation. Was his time on Doriath a 'bond'? If it was, is the time in the woods 'free', and thus better in its way?

The chapter ends with Beleg leaving Túrin to return to Doriath and tell Thingol and Melian of all that has happened between him and Túrin. Beleg seemed very skeptical of Túrin’s plans and his concerns seem to overlap with the questions that I have earlier posed. He essentially said to Túrin that it would be futile to try and change the characters of these cruel men. All my questions lie in this realm. Why did Túrin join the Outlaws? What did he seek to gain? Did he have any end-game plan when he joined? The conflict here might be more between the question of Elves and Men: biologically one family, yet as Beleg says, are they meant to mingle, or are they better apart? The longer sight of Beleg in conflict with the immediate need of Turin; so I see here perhaps an extension of the 'freedom' of the child of Men from the home of the Elves. Beleg would not have been very fond of the outlaws: Turin holds a special place in Beleg's heart (and he pays for that) and from what we see these outlaws have no love for Elves. So different than what Turin grew up with, with Hurin having such deep love for Turgon and all the Elven ways. (In that way, is Turin rejecting much of that half-remembered childhood, like Nellas and their friendship?)