Symbols!

Odysseus's wound:
His wound is a symbol of recognizing who Odysseus really is other then an old man, he uses it to prove to his wife and father that he is really Odysseus. The maid also finds out its him because of his scar.
Birds:
The birds symbolize that Odysseus's return and the conflict that is to come. Penelopeia sees an eagle eating her favorite geese. This means her loneliness will come to an end and Odysseus will come back and she will be happy. Also Athena is a bird when the fight in Odysseus's house occurs.
Hades:
After Odysseus killed all those men the book went back to hades and all the souls Odysseus killed. Agameanon talks about the loyalty and how Achilies was betrayed. They souls of the dead men remind us how he defeted everyone in his house. The first time he goes to hades it shows how everyone is misserable without him at home and how his mother killed herself because his father was so depressed he wasnt home. He also learns about the people in his past and all the disloyalty that led to Agamenon's death.