As John Proctor is being led to the gallows and Elizabeth expresses her support for his decision, Miller ends the play on a dramatic note by writing, ". . . and the drums rattle like bones in the morning air." Miller's brilliant use of imagery heightens the suspense at the end of the play and leaves the audience with an unsettling, alarming impression. The sound of drums beating is both ominous and startling, which corresponds to Proctor's tragic fate. The image of rattling bones also symbolically represents the innocent victims of the witch trials. By coupling the dark, threatening images of pounding drums and rattling bones in the morning air, Miller heightens the suspense of the moment while leaving a lasting impression of the catastrophic effects of the witch trials on the audience. The resonance of the rattling bones in the morning air suggests that the Salem witch trials will forever be embedded in the audience's mind. These ominous sounds in the morning air reflect the lasting impact of the tragic events that transpired in Salem.

This line creates a powerful image in the mind's eye. As audience or reader, we imagine the similar sounds that drums and bones make. Miller connects these two images because he is trying to show that our memories of an event like this can be called up by any number of sounds or sensory experiences. The image of bones refers to those innocent people who were killed needlessly. "Bones in the morning air" is a reminder that such a sound memory can return on a daily basis; it is a truth that will never fade and should always be remembered. He wants us (the reader or audience) to recall these events as we would a common sound in nature, since they are a part of our common humanity.