What does the audience learn about odysseus from his encounters with his shipmate

I'm a little late, but if you may need this answer in the future...

Odysseus and his crew sail to the region of the Men of Winter and, per Kirke's instructions, make a ritual sacrifice for Teiresias. While waiting for Teiresias, Odysseus cuts down the other phantoms that emerge, including Elpenor, who had fallen from Kirke's roof. Odysseus promises him a proper sailor's burial back on Kirke's island. He also sees his dead mother, Antikleia. Odysseus thought his mother was alive so he is pretty sad and begins to cry.