allegory

The figurative style known as allegory has nothing do with alligators — unless you're telling a story where alligators represent evil forces snapping at humanity.

An allegory is like a metaphor on steroids: a writer tells a fictional story where everything and everyone in it is supposed to represent a deeper meaning. Using a plain old metaphor, you might call death "the grim reaper," but an allegory might build a whole tale of how the grim reaper goes around in a black cloak and informs people of their impending doom. Aesop's Fables are allegories, with animals taking the place of different human character types — though Aesop never wrote an allegory about an alligator.