What is the thesis statement in "Characteristics of Resilient People"

Astudent wants to replace the underlined word to make the meaning more precise.which phrase would be the best replacement for the underlined phrase ?

Twenty years gone, and i am back again on my own island. as for my change of skin, that is a charm athena, hope of soldiers, uses as she will; she has the knack to make me seem a beggar man sometimes and sometimes young, with finer clothes about me. it is no hard thing for the gods of heaven to glorify a man or bring him low. —the odyssey, homer based on what odysseus says in the passage, what has he learned? humans can become like gods. humans are under the gods’ control. humans can change from beggars to soldiers.

The story is about a postmaster who is trying to adapt to the new life in the village of ulapur. in what way is the postmaster's life different from his life in urban calcutta?