hi, i have a question concerning the Walden or life in the woods story by henry David Thoreau and I'm stuck...

hi,

i have a question concerning the Walden or life in the woods story by henry David Thoreau and I'm stuck with a question and it says:

Thoreau's metaphors are highly visual. Though they're clever and orignial they aren't far-fetched. Thoreau takes his compariso from nature and from other things with which he and his audience are familiar. To be sure you understand Thoreau's figures of speech, paraphrases the following metaphors. Be sure to explicate his point as well. Do his metaphors apply to readers today?

Now the metaphors my teacher gave me are :

"Still we live like ants though the fable tells us that we were long ago changed into men like pygmies we fight with cranes it is error upon error and clout upon clout and our best virtue has for its occasion a superfluous and évitable wretchednes. Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!"

another one is : "As for the rest of my readers they will accept such portions as apply to them. I trust that none will stretch the seams in putting on the coat, for it may do good service to him whom it fits"

"I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life" 

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away"

i need answers as quickly as possible because this homework is due tomorrow and it's late but I thought the only way to do my homework is to use homeworkmarket so thank you very much and I hope ill find help here