Why does Bernard regret having sex with Lenina ?

Bernard is disgusted with society's casual sex philosophy. He wants something more than just casual sex with any girl he dates. He thinks that there might be something to be experienced by holding back one's desires and waiting for a better time to express one's sexuality with a partner. He and Helmholtz have not been dating with the intent to discover what might be the result of self-denial. Bernard tries to explain his feelings with Lenina on their date, but she is simply too conditioned to understand anything outside of what popular culture accepts--that is hedonism. For example, Bernard says something that Lenina doesn't understand: ". . . to try the effect of arresting my impulses" (93). She tells him that it seems like nonsense to her and Bernard replies with the following:

"It suddenly struck me the other day . . . that it might be possible to be an adult all the time" (94).

When Lenina says again that she doesn't understand what Bernard is talking about he says:

"I know you don't. And that's why we went to bed together yesterday--like infants--instead of being adults and waiting" (94).

Bernard is disappointed with himself that he didn't act like an adult; he didn't wait with Lenina; and he didn't uphold the ideals he and Helmholtz were experimenting with. Essentially, Bernard regrets going to bed with Lenina because it was like taking a philosophical step backwards from what he was striving to accomplish within himself. 

How does Bob Ewell treat the court and the attorneys?

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Bob Ewell treats the court and the attorneys with contempt and disrespect.

When he is called to the stand by Mr. Gilmer, Bob begins by addressing his lawyer rudely; when asked if his name is "Mr. Robert Ewell," Bob glibly answers: "That’s m’name, cap’n." After hearing this, Scout says she doesn't understand Mr. Ewell's attitude; since he is Mr. Gilmer's witness, "he had no business being rude to him, of all people."

In his next question, Mr. Gilmer asks Bob Ewell if he is Mayella Ewell's father, and Mr. Ewell also answers disrespectfully: "Well, if I ain’t I can’t do nothing about it now, her ma’s dead." In both instances, Bob Ewell is rude to his own defense lawyer. Judge Taylor puts Bob Ewell in his place, though. He commands Bob to answer Mr. Gilmer's future questions without resorting to "obscene speculations."

It isn't long, however, before Bob Ewell behaves badly again. When questioned about Mayella's screaming, Bob resorts to using a racial slur to slander Tom Robinson's character. He also accuses Tom of being the man who took brutal advantage of Mayella. Because of Bob Ewell's rude language, Judge Taylor has to hammer his gavel for a full five minutes before the courtroom can be brought to order.

Considering Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, how might one argue that the monster is superior to humans?

The monster is superior to humans, in part, because he learns faster.  Just from observing Safie's lessons, he is able to learn to read and write and speak, and he learns more quickly and more thoroughly than she does.  Remember, he is less than two years old at that point!  Thus, he is intellectually far superior to us.

Further, the creature is physically superior to humans as well.  He is shot when he saves a little girl from drowning, and though it pains him, he survives and is not materially affected by his wound.  Moreover, when Victor first sees him, he is "hanging among the rocks of the nearly perpendicular ascent" of a mountain, a feat nearly impossible for a human.  In addition to the superhuman strength displayed here, he also shows superhuman speed and the ability to withstand temperature extremes that Victor cannot.

I think one could also make the argument that the creature is emotionally superior to humans as well.  Aside from being born quite gentle and beneficent, the creature is ultimately willing to take responsibility for his violence, something Victor is never willing or able to do.  Victor says that he does not "'find [his past conduct] blameable,'" even though he ruined so many lives, including his own.  However, the creature says to Walton, "'My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy; and, when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture, such as you cannot even imagine.'"  He not only takes responsibility for the evil he's done, he also explains the terrible emotional toll it's taken on him.  

In the The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, provide specific examples from the book (provide the quote and the scene) that reflect racism, and...

One example of racism in The Secret Life of Bees is the scene in which Lily hears on television that President Lyndon Johnson has signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Lily doesn't know much about this act, but Rosaleen, her African-American caretaker, is "disbelieving and happy" (page 35). Lily says of the white men at her church, "I knew they would not take this news lying down, not in one million years" (page 36), and she likens the Civil Rights movement to a contest between whites and blacks.

Rosaleen is also practicing her cursive writing to register to vote at a voting rally to be held on the Fourth of July (page 44). When she and Lily enter town, three white men heckle Rosaleen, and their harassment intensifies when they hear she is going to try to vote. They comment on the color of her skin, saying, "Did you ever see one that black?" (page 51). When Rosaleen pours the spit from her snuff jug on their shoes, they show "outright fury" and pounce on her (page 52). As Rosaleen and Lily are escorted to the police station, the three men continue to harass them, but the police say that they are unable to stop the men (pages 54-55). One of the men hits Rosaleen with a flashlight (page 56), and a policeman does nothing to stop him. Brother Gerald, the minister, even decides to press charges against Rosaleen for taking fans from the church (page  68), rather than helping Rosaleen when she is in prison. Authority figures, including the reverend and the police, are racist and perpetrate unfairness on African-American people.

When Lily begins to fall in love with Zachary Taylor, August's godson who is African-American, she has to overcome her own racist feelings. She says, "At my school they made fun of colored people's lips and noses. I myself had laughed at these jokes, hoping to fit in" (page 170). She is shocked that she finds him handsome, and she marvels at his good looks and his intelligence. Later, she finds it incredible that she is attracted to Zach (page 183), which she attributes partly to the "mystery of his skin" (page 183). African-American and white people have difficulty even learning to love each other. Zach returns her love, but he reminds her that "there are people who would kill boys like me for even looking at girls like you" (page 196). The Secret Life of Bees is set in a world in which racism is still overt and deadly, though the book portrays the moment at which this world was beginning to change.

In the novel, who is a worse character: Luke O'Neill or Ralph De Bricassart?

The answer to this question largely depends upon one's perspective. Although it can be said that both ambitious men take undue advantage of Meggie, Father Ralph De Bricassart at least claims to love Paddy Cleary's only daughter. Yes, it is true that both men lust after Meggie, but Luke O'Neill has the distinction of being a crude and selfish husband to the one woman he has promised to protect and to cherish. Father Ralph, on the other hand, is Meggie's trusted mentor for all of her awkward and difficult childhood years. In adulthood, Father Ralph ironically becomes the only man who can satisfy her sexual and emotional needs. Alas, as Meggie complains, although Father Ralph 'wants' her, he never manages to fully accept his need for her and ultimately ends up disappointing her.

As the story goes, the spiteful Mary Carson bequeaths her entire estate to the Roman Catholic Church, with Father Ralph De Bricassart as executor. Worth over thirteen million pounds, Mary was a very successful businesswoman when she lived. Her lust for Father Ralph De Bricassart had been consuming then, and in death, she managed to exact her vengeance on him for rejecting her sexual advances. For his part, in order to realize his goal of ascending the hierarchy of the church, Father Ralph refuses to contest the contents of Mary's new will. Faced with a choice between Meggie's welfare and his own, Father Ralph selfishly chooses to satisfy the dictates of his own self-interest.

Luke O'Neill is similar in that he marries Meggie for her wealth; for all his alpha confidence, Luke's selfishness and insensitivity to Meggie is revolting to our senses. After their wedding, he appropriates Meggie's twenty thousand pounds for his own, telling her that he is an old-fashioned man who thinks that a wife's property automatically belongs to her husband. Luke tells Meggie that he is saving up to buy his own sheep station and maintains that he doesn't want to be the type of husband who lives off his wife. However, his actions contradict his words.

To add insult to injury, Luke is what Meggie calls a 'skinflint.' In fact, he is such a miser that he purchases two second-class, upright seat tickets for the three-day journey to Dungloe for their honeymoon. When Meggie protests, his reply is breathtakingly unsympathetic:

"Why spend money on a sleeper when we're both young, healthy and strong? Sitting up on a train for a while won't kill you, Meghann! It's about time you realized you've married a plain old workingman, not a bloody squatter!"

After the three-day journey, Meggie is exhausted and bewildered by the cruel disregard of her new husband. However, Luke is unperturbed by his bride's discomfort and despair. In fact, he complains bitterly that he was cheated out of his wedding night because his bride slept for two days straight after the arduous journey.

When the two finally manage to consummate their marriage, Luke is rough, callous, and selfish. His primary goal is the fulfillment of his own sexual desires. Because he doesn't take the trouble or the time to prepare Meggie for his eventual forced entry, Meggie suffers horrific pain and discomfort. Far from displaying any sort of sympathy for his innocent bride, Luke exhibits anger at her inexperience and fear. This leaves Meggie wishing for death so that she can be spared further humiliation and physical agony.

After the satiation of his desires, Luke loses no time in telling Meggie that she will be hired out as a maid of sorts to the Muellers at Himmelhoch. Ludwig Mueller is a man Luke calls a 'cane cocky,' the owner of a cane plantation. Meanwhile, Luke asserts that he himself will join a group of sugarcane cutters in North Queensland. Before he leaves, he makes sure to appropriate all of Meggie's pocket money and savings for his own. Even Meggie's future wages will be directly paid into his account. In short, Meggie is to have no money of her own and no ability to effect her own future.

Of course, the above describes only a few examples of Luke's avaricious and selfish conduct. On the other hand, even though Father Ralph controls Meggie's financial future as executor of Mary Carson's will, he generously provides for Meggie and her immediate family. Accordingly, Father Ralph deposits seven thousand pounds into Paddy Cleary's account and opens up savings accounts of two thousand pounds each for every member of the family. Additionally, Meggie and her whole family will have assured incomes of thousands of dollars each for every month they work at Drogheda. For Meggie, the money is still assured even if she chooses not to live and to work on the family property.

So, although Meggie never realizes true happiness with either man, Father Ralph at least attempts to provide for Meggie's immediate needs. Yet, because they are ambitious men, one can say that both ultimately fail in their duty to Meggie. In order to answer your question, you may have to choose who you think represents the greater evil in Meggie's life.

In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, what does Holden notice when he arrives at the theater?

In the beginning of Chapter 17, Holden is waiting at the Biltmore for his date, Sally Hayes, to show up. While waiting in the lobby, Holden notices all of the women who are there; and of course, he has to catalog and criticize them. Most of them are girls his age who have just been released from school for the holidays. Holden mostly notices the women's legs, though. He notices if they are nice or not; if they are crossed or not; and if the women themselves would be "swell" or not. Then his thoughts take him to where these women might be in a few years. This prompts Holden to think of the types of "dopey" men they will marry, which disappoints him.

Once Sally Hayes comes, Holden notices her dress, her hair, and how wonderful she looks. They get into a cab and make-out on the way to the theater. Because Holden is making out with Sally, he doesn't really notice the theater when he arrives. His narration goes from the cab directly to Holden discussing how "crappy" the show is. It isn't until the intermission, when they go into the theater's lobby for a break, that Holden notices people smoking and acting "phony."

"At the end of the first act we went out with all the other jerks for a cigarette. What a deal that was. You never saw so many phonies in all your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so that everybody could hear and know how sharp they were" (126).

It is out in the lobby that Sally meets a friend named George, who comes over and talks to her. Holden doesn't appreciate listening to their "phony" conversation, either. 

In conclusion, there isn't something specific that Holden notices right when he arrives at the theater because the narration goes from what is happening in the cab straight to his opinion about the show. However, Holden does notice women's legs at the Biltmore while waiting for Sally before going to the theater. Then, while at the theater, Holden notices people's phony conversations with each other, which disgust him. 

Why do criminals want Jabez Wilson out of the pawnbroker's shop in "The Red Headed-League?"

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story, “The Red-Headed League,” the criminals want Jabez Wilson out of his pawnbroker’s shop because they want to use that shop in a criminal enterprise.  Specifically, they want to use it to rob a branch of the City and Suburban Bank.  We do not find this out until Sherlock Holmes reveals it to us and his colleagues at the end of the story.

In the story, Holmes and Watson go to Saxe-Coburg Square to get a look at Wilson’s establishment.  The square is a quiet little part of town.  However, when they turn the corner, they see something very different.  As Watson relates,

The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square… was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City to the north and west.

On this road, there were a number of businesses.  One of them was the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank.  With this information, Holmes knows everything he needs to know and he proceeds to plan his trap.

The bank has just borrowed a large amount of gold from the Bank of France.  The thieves are going to try to steal the gold, so Holmes invites Watson, the police, and a bank official to wait with him in the bank’s vault for the thieves to strike.  They have dug a tunnel from Wilson’s basement to the basement of the bank, where the vault is.  They wanted Wilson out of the pawnbroker’s shop so they could have the privacy they needed to dig their tunnel between the two cellars.