The ancient chest whined in protest as the museum workers struggled to pry it open to reveal the secrets it had held close for more than three hundred years.

the text "whined in protest" and "the secrets it had held close" is

which response most effectively completes the sentence?

simile
oxymoron
personification
metaphor

yes, they are. i think.

cause they were to dumb to get their college education to become a real   : )

quintessence, core, heart, crux, nucleus, substance, principle, fundamental quality, sum the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning. insight, understanding, awareness, wisdom, education, learning, knowledge,