On page 95 of the Penguin Edition of The Outsiders, Jerry, possibly a school teacher, says, “Mrs. O’Briant and I think you were sent from heaven. Or are you just professional heroes or something?” after Johnny, Ponyboy and Dally saves some children from a burning church which they probably caused.
With regards to innocence, we discussed loss of innocence and the transformation of a person’s psychology. Johnny and Ponyboy were mostly innocent up to the point that Johnny killed the Soc in self-defense. Afterwards, he was a murderer. Then a fugitive, and Ponyboy, an accomplice to the crime. If viewed as a social construct, it would depend on who sees which part of the picture. Johnny and Ponyboy were pretty much criminals according to the law. They themselves, however, were innocent until the point they killed the Soc because they had to or Ponyboy would die. Jerry, and the other adults near the church fire did not see murderers, but heroes. Jerry says he thinks they were sent from heaven, also asking if they were just professional heroes or something? His dialogue brings up both appraisal for their heroic acts and questions about the nature of their act.
According to Jerry and the other adults near the church fire, these two teenagers were heroes; running into a burning church to save several innocent children trapped inside when no one else dared to. However, his mind didn’t really change when Ponyboy told him all the details. Self-defensive heroes is what he probably saw. Not that he probably left the burning cigarette that started the fire, though, there is no evidence that he actually did. In the end, when all the deeds are added up, Ponyboy and Johnny were innocent in the eyes of society. Risking their own lives to save children more innocent than themselves, more defenseless in returned made them look less like criminals and more like innocent.
