Illusion of Control
In the beginning of the novel, the Narrator follows the path set out for him in most things, the college, Bledsoe's wild goose chase, and the paint factory. After that experience he decides he is going to take charge and become his own person, however we continue to see him fall in line to other's plans, with the repeated consequence of getting sent away when he deviates from them. With the college, the Narrator thought there was nothing he could've done after the patron asked to drive around, and for that he got unofficially kicked out. Most recently, we saw the narrator deliver speeches for the brotherhood, and when he gets too personal for their liking, in addition to taking an interview which he believed was to their benefit, he gets sent away to the downtown area to make speeches on "the women question", where it would be difficult to get personal for him. This cycle, where the Narrator thinks he is doing what's best, and then gets punished for