Answer:
Figurative.
Explanation:
A literary symbol is an object that takes one or more figurative meanings beyond its literal meaning.
In Literature, symbols (symbolism) are used to give a literary work deeper (more) meaning and to convey a larger idea to the audience.
Basically, symbols comprises of motifs, characters, images, settings etc, that typically represents larger ideas.
An author's opinion can be defined as the ideas, perception or viewpoint representing and describing what an author think or feel about a topic, subject, issue etc. Therefore, an audience is informed through an author's use of symbols for a particular topic, subject or issues. Since these informations are an expression of an author's opinion, they may not be factual and as such are subject to verification and tests.
For example, a green octagon is used to represent move (go) or red octagon for stop.
