Culture is everywhere. It is found in art, music, tradition, religion, language and law. Culture is hard to ignore, because it is the environment in which a person is raised and makes us who we are as human beings today. These three books, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, and Learning to Bow, Inside the Heart of Japan by Bruce Feiler, are about different cultures and the effects coexistence has on them. When two unfamiliar cultures coexist, both cultural groups are affected. Belief systems are challenging, perceptions continue to be predetermined, and when cultures work to understand each other there are positive outcomes. In the book Heart of Darkness, Marlow; a steamship captain, is sent by his employer up the Congo River to transport ivory and bring Kurtz back. Kurtz's acquisition of ivory for the company exceeds that of all other employees and is tied to his relationship with native tribes. He establishes himself as a god and raids neighboring tribes promoting his position and forcing the natives to collect ivory. As Marlow ventures down the river, he notices the inhumane treatment of the natives and his peers' desire to impose themselves on the natives. Marlow and his crew members are from Europe. They share many of the same beliefs as their own culture, which is imperialist. Imperialist countries use their power to influence another country through force or diplomacy. Marlow had just arrived in the Congo and had come across a group of men, punished with purposeless forced labor. “I avoided a vast artificial hole that someone had dug in the slope, the purpose of which I could not guess. In any case it was not a quarry or a sand pit. ... middle of the paper ... in these novels you can see domination through slavery to the mutual understanding of a man who teaches his English culture. These beliefs often cause false perceptions of others that can be difficult to change. Reading these stories on similar topics, each with their own perspective, leads the reader to understand why these perceptions developed. Ultimately, a mutual relationship through understanding and acceptance allows the two cultures to learn from each other. Sometimes it's as simple as using chopsticks. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.Conrad, Joseph, and Ross C. Murfin. Heart of Darkness: Joseph Conrad; a case study in contemporary criticism. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1996. Print.Feiler, Bruce S. Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan. New York: Perennial, 2004. Print.