Is this a metaphor?

"I held onto the railing as if my life depended on it."

What details of the first two paragraphs convey a sense of the ordinary,behind the scenes routines of film critics?

In a short story the narrator's word choice

The question below refers to the selection “ozymandias” by percy bysshe shelley. the traveler seems to believe that — a. monuments are eternal b. the passage of time is necessary and inevitable c. we must preserve relics of past civilizations d. even the greatest works are destroyed by time