A Worn Path aka the bad story this week

I guess this really isn't a bad story i just decide any story i can't interpret right away as " bad". However this story did have an interesting twist on the end. Our main character, Phoenix Jackson, is traveling from her home into town which is far away. She travels by foot and we learn toward the end of the story that she does this to get medicine for her grandson. There are a few instances in the end of the story that make the reader question her real reason for going into town. In fact it may be that her grandson is no longer alive. The impression I got was that either her grandson was no longer alive or that she was using the medicine for herself. I think of this when the nurse asks; "He isn't dead is he?" and Phoenix responds, "at last there came a flicker and them a flame of comprehension across her face" Her response to this question of her grandson's death is odd. There were other minor characters that Phoenix encounters that may play a symbolic role such as the man with the dog she meets and the woman who ties her shoes. I am not quite sure of these charcters' purpose but it is evident that they impact Phoenix.