A literary work in which the characters and events are used as symbols is known as _________?

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the term for a work in which the characters and events themselves act as symbols, usually standing for deeper ideas (moral, political, or spiritual).

Step 2: Explain the concept An allegory is a story, poem, or play where characters, events, and settings represent abstract ideas or real-life situations. It works on two levels: the surface story and the hidden meaning.

Examples:

• Animal Farm by George Orwell: the animals and events stand for the Russian Revolution and its leaders.
• The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan: the characters stand for virtues, vices, and the Christian journey.

Step 3: Check each option

• A. Characteristics: these are traits or qualities of a person or thing, not a literary form.
• B. Allegory: a whole work where characters and events symbolize deeper meanings. This fits.
• C. Metaphor: a figure of speech that compares two things directly without "like" or "as" (e.g., "He is a lion"). It works at the level of a phrase, not an entire work with characters and events.
• D. Parallelism: the repetition of similar grammatical structures or ideas for balance and emphasis. It is a stylistic device, not a symbolic narrative.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is B. allegory.

Exam tip: Think "Allegory = All the story is a symbol." If the entire work (characters and events) carries a hidden meaning, it is allegory. If it is just a single comparison, it is a metaphor.