When the class was talking about Swallow Me Whole and the themes of madness that are present throughout, I thought it was very interesting when we considered the grandmother’s little pill-creature as not so much a negative thing, but more like something that protected her from Ruth’s madness with the side-effects of the drugs. The entire subject of insanity is, by its nature, very controversial and I felt that Nate Powell wanted to convey just how disturbing it can be for everybody involved. He also wanted to show that it’s not just the elderly who can lose touch with reality; it can happen to anybody, at any age. With Ruth, Powell explores how someone who is insane can perceive reality and if they allow their madness the “swallow them whole”, so to speak, it can consume them utterly. All-in-all, Swallow Me Whole was a chilling graphic novel when I first read it, and while the class discussion cleared a few things up, it still left more questions unanswered.