In Sequoyah, Oklahoma, Novalee asks her boyfriend to stop at Wal-Mart so that she can go to the bathroom and replace her shoes, which had fallen out a hole in the floor of their beat-up car.

Novalee visits the library and meets Forney Hull ( James Frain ), who works at the library while caring for his sister ( the librarian ), whose health has been ruined by alcoholism.

Novalee learns from Sister Husband and her boyfriend that Forney dropped out of Bowdoin College in Maine and wanted to be a history teacher before he had to leave school.

Later, Novalee and Forney are getting Christmas trees, when Forney remembers Americus is 5 months old.

When Forney ’ s sister passes away due to alcoholism and he does not appear to be at the funeral, Novalee finds him in a hotel and comforts him.

Novalee and Forney end up sleeping together, after which he tells her that he loves her and she doesn't reply.

When Forney comes back, he talks about visiting Bowdoin and Novalee realizes that he could now finish his education.

Forney says he loves her and wants to get a factory job and stay with her, but Novalee lies, saying she does not love him, and he leaves.

Novalee realizes that she made a similar mistake lying to Forney.

* Forney does return to college until Novalee comes back to confess her lie in the movie but in the book Forney does not return to college ; instead he travels around the nation.

* Forney and Novalee did get married in a Wal-Mart but in the book they do not get married at all.

Novalee cannot hear what he is saying, and eventually perceives that something bad has happened so she drives to Lexie's house.

The film follows Novalee Nation, a pregnant 17-year-old girl from Tennessee, who sets out for California with her boyfriend.

Seventeen and 7 months pregnant, Novalee Nation ( Natalie Portman ) sets off on a road trip from Tennessee to California with her ignorant ne ' er-do-well boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens ( Dylan Bruno ).

When Novalee reaches out for her change at the register, the amount of $ 5. 55 sends her into a panic and she runs outside to find that her boyfriend has left ( Novalee believes that the number 5 is a sign of trouble or a negative event of significance is to come because when she was 5, her mother left her for a baseball umpire and when she was a waitress at a restaurant, a regular customer went crazy and cut her on her arm from wrist to elbow and it took 55 stitches to close the wound ).

She meets Sister Husband ( Stockard Channing ), a woman who runs the Welcome Wagon in town, and mistakenly believes Novalee to be her long-lost relative Ruth Ann.

Novalee also meets a photographer named Moses Whitecotton ( Keith David ) who becomes her mentor in later years.

However, Sister Husband invites her in to stay for some cornbread and buttermilk, and Novalee plants the buckeye tree in Sister's yard.

That night in the Wal-Mart, Novalee wakes up during a thunderstorm when she starts feeling pain in her stomach.

After being asked by her nurse Lexie Coop ( Ashley Judd ) what she will name her baby girl, Novalee decides to name her baby Americus ( because Moses suggested Novalee to give her baby a strong name ).

Since Novalee has only a few dollars, she secretly moves into the Wal-Mart store.

For the rest of the afternoon, Novalee browses Wal-Mart.

Later that evening, Novalee feels sick and runs into the bathroom to vomit, and when she comes out again she discovers that the store is closed, locked, and dark.

Novalee goes to Sister Husband's house and explains that she is not Ruth Ann.

The next morning, Novalee wakes up in the hospital and became an instant celebrity after giving birth in a Wal-Mart.

While in the hospital, Novalee gets a visit from her mother ( Sally Field ), whom she has not seen since she was a child.

Novalee says no, and her mother says that the two women can get an apartment together.

Novalee shows her the $ 500 that she was given by the President of the Wal-Mart chain to her mother.

Novalee agrees that her mother can come pick her and Americus up at 9: 00 a. m. the next day.

The next day, it is 12: 15 in the lobby, but her mother never shows up, and Novalee realizes that her mother only wanted the money.

Later, Novalee is shown to have a good time at Sister Husband's house.

This shocks Novalee about her unlucky number and races home to find out that Americus was kidnapped.

That is why Dr. Brodie asks parents not to insist, against their dentist's advice, that their child have orthodontic work done too early.

In the first part of the first chapter, the Prophet sees the injustice among his people and asks why God does not take action.

( p. 238 ) “ Do you see now why it feels so good to be a critical mind ?” asks Latour: no matter which position you take, “ You ’ re always right !” ( p. 238-239 )

Gangleri comments that Loki created a " pretty terrible family " though important, and asks why the Æsir did not just kill Fenrir there since they expected great malice from him.

When Charles asks why Fiona is not married, she confesses that she has always loved Charles since they first met years ago.

At the altar, when the vicar asks if anyone knows a reason why the couple should not marry, David asks Charles to translate for him, and says in sign language that he suspects the groom is having doubts and loves someone else.

The next panel shows a classroom of spiders in which a teacher asks the students why spiders celebrate " National Stupid Day ," implying that the spider was squished.

In the first part of the second chapter, the Prophet sees the injustice among his people and asks why God does not take action: " 1: 2 Yahweh, how long will I cry, and you will not hear?

" Vortigern asks what country they have come from and why they have come to his kingdom.

The hoax story is disputed by Henry Bauer, who claims this debunking is evidence of bias, and asks why the perpetrators did not reveal their plot earlier to embarrass the newspaper.

" Calling the gods arrogant, Loki asks why they are unable to speak, and demands that they assign him a seat and a place for him at the feast, or tell him to leave.

The goddess Gefjun asks why the two gods must fight, saying that Loki knows that he is joking, and that " all living things love him.

The god Heimdallr says that Loki is drunk and witless, and asks Loki why he won't stop speaking.

Acknowledging that Thor has arrived, Loki asks Thor why he is raging, and says that Thor won't be so bold to fight against the wolf when he swallows Odin at Ragnarök.

Þrymr sees Loki, and asks what could be amiss among the Æsir and the Elves ; why is Loki alone in the Jötunheimr?

If he knew about Whitacre's embezzlement for three years, Lieber asks, why didn't Andreas fire Whitacre immediately?

Thus the emotivist asks why not to adopt the simple explanation and say that this is all there is ; why insist that a genuine " badness " ( of murder, for example ) must be causing feelings, when a simpler explanation is available.

He asks why postmodernist intellectuals do not respond like people in other fields when asked, " what are the principles of their theories, on what evidence are they based, what do they explain that wasn't already obvious, etc ?... If requests can't be met, then I'd suggest recourse to Hume's advice in similar circumstances: to the flames.

This means that any proposition whatsoever can be endlessly ( infinitely ) questioned, like a child who asks " why?

Dil, after talking with Fergus about plans once he gets out of jail, asks him why he took the fall for her in the first place.

" The Scots Observer of 5 July 1890 asks why Wilde must " go grubbing in muck-heaps ?” Wilde responded to such criticisms by curtailing some of the homoerotic overtones, and by adding six chapters to the book in an effort to add background.

Pizan asks the virtues if women should be taught as men are and why men think women should not be educated.

Calvera, in his dying breath, asks why men like Chris came back to protect such a small village.