The symbolism of the new cloak in this excerpt is - the new cloak represents Odysseus's transformation from a weary traveler to the returning hero.
He spent many years on the sea, far from his family and loved ones, and he became old and tired. This new cloak is his transformation - he is a hero now, and he has come back to Ithaca to rule again.
I believe the answer to this question would be either a metaphor, idiom, or alliteration. But this would most likely be idiom because people can interpret different meanings of this phrase negative or positive and can take it personally or extensively.
Answer: He knows that life is a cycle of death and rebirth.
Explanation:
The father of the speaker in this poem must believe in the cycle of life, death and rebirth because he compares human lives to that of an orange which gets to live, make orange seeds and then get reborn when those orange seeds grow into orange trees.
In believing that human life is perpetual, he shows his belief that humans live perpetually and in likening it to oranges coming back, the method of the perpetual living is being reborn.
