Question

How does the order in which Odysseus reveals himself to his friends and loved ones build suspense

Answer 1

It builds suspense partially because it creates dramatic irony(the reader knows sonething the characters dont), and so they reader waits for the unveiling moment.

Answer 2

At the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus returns home disguised as a beggar. The first character to recognize him is his faithful dog, Argos. Then it is his servant Eumaeus, later his son, Telemachus, and finally his wife, Penelope. Suspense is built as Odysseus reveals himself gradually to these characters, as he plots the killing of the suitors and in the way evaluates the faithfulness of these characters and Odysseus strong and willing determination, making the final scene a crescendo of fury and anger, a matter of suspense that has hardly been matched in other texts.