Question

select the best evidence to support the statement that patroclus relies on his father to know what to do.
\i am patroclus, son of menoitius.\ my voice sounded high, and scratchy with disuse. \i am here as a suitor for helen. my father is a king and the son of kings.\ i had no more to say. my father had not instructed me; he had not thought that tyndareus would ask me to speak. i stood and carried the bowl to the pile of gifts, placed it where it would not topple. i turned and walked back to my bench. i had not disgraced myself with trembling or tripping, and my words had not been foolish. still, my face burned with shame.
from madeline miller, the song of achilles. copyright 2012 by madeline miller

Explanation:

To support the statement that Patroclus relies on his father to know what to do, we analyze the text. The key sentence is "I had no more to say. My father had not instructed me; he had not thought that Tyndareus would ask me to speak." This shows that Patroclus stops speaking because his father didn't give him instructions on what to say in this situation, indicating he relies on his father's guidance for his actions (or speech here) and doesn't know what to do on his own without his father's instruction.

Answer:

The best evidence is: "I had no more to say. My father had not instructed me; he had not thought that Tyndareus would ask me to speak."