"Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests
and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold
standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of
labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross
of gold."
- William Jennings Bryan at the Democratic National
Convention, 1896.

The quotation above is from an 1896 speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan, in which he was protesting the adoption of a strict gold standard in the
United States, which could severely limit the national money supply. Bryan's reference to a "cross of gold" is best referred to as which of the following
selections?

Select one:
A. symbolism
B. propaganda
C. bias
D. literal language