What does loose ends mean

Read this excerpt from “what i hope to leave behind.” for a number of years it took so much vitality to keep the home going, and that home represented so many different kinds of activities, that none of us had any urge to go outside of this sphere. if “what i hope to leave behind” was the subject of a class discussion, why might paraphrasing this sentence be ? you could analyze the key themes while also staying true to the original language. you could summarize the key ideas, which would shorten the length of the excerpt. you could use your own ideas and concepts, which would add important information. you could rephrase it in your own words, which might clarify the meaning of the excerpt.

Which is the most effective paraphrase of the passage "six benches were left empty in every ship that evening when we pulled away from death. and this new grief we bore with us to sea: our precious lives we had, but not our friends" - the odyssey

Where does the receiver live in the giver?