Why write the *Defense* job as the cursed one?

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Why did JKR make it be the Defense job that was cursed?  Having a cursed class did allow her to regularly introduce new professors, and I can understand wanting to do that, particularly since the action was mostly confined to the school.  But why the Defense job?

I can think of some unflattering reasons, such as not wanting to write a hero who can really *do* stuff, or not wanting to have to work out what kind of stuff such a hero would *do*. Or maybe she just wanted to ensure that readers would be interested in the class that happened to be cursed, and Defense would naturally get readers interested, particularly young readers.

Are there any really good reasons?  

We never saw Quirrell teach anything, and the book gives the impression that he wasn't teaching well. Lockhart didn't teach the actual subject at all. Lupin focused on Dark creatures, not Dark Arts; he could've been a replacement Care of Magical Creatures professor, instead of Hagrid. He still could've helped tutor Harry to fight dementors. Crouch and Umbridge's classes do work better as Defense classes, but Snape just needed to moved aside for Slughorn to take over Potions.

Frankly, JKR could've made the *History* class be the cursed one. It wouldn't've affected Quirrell, and Lockhart could still have plausibly talked about himself (as an important figure in *recent* history, of course!).

Lupin's only relevant Defense thing was tutoring Harry to fight dementors, which he could have done as a family friend even if it weren't relevant to his subject. It *was* out of class, after all. The boggart scene does contribute to the characterization, but it could've been included by, say, having Lupin premptively substitute for the Defense teacher, who would later substitute for him during the full moon.

Crouch!Moody could have focused the history class on the recent war with Voldemort, and made his class unusually interesting by demonstrating some of the spells used. (Assuming that the actual Defense class couldn't fill in that bit of background info.) He has the right personality for adding a bit of Defense to another class, and Dumbledore would still take advantage of the cursed position to have an Auror around to keep an eye on things.

Umbridge would probably still need to take over Defense, but things could shift at that point. The previous Defense teacher they'd had could have been forced to resign by the Ministry, and Binns could take over History if there was nothing else to do with that job.

And don't tell me that Voldemort wouldn't've been creepy wanting to teach history. Written by a good author, that could be as creepy as anything.

(If Voldemort actually wanted to teach, that is. The books don't make it sound like Voldemort had a very sincere interest in teaching Defense, although I do find that possibility intriguing.)

Not that it has to be History in particular, although that class would have had potential. It's amazing how little JKR did with the Defense class concept, though. It was practically only there to indicate that fighting is a part of the WW, and to excuse Harry from the need to spend time *outside* class training to fight Voldemort.

Comments

[karentheunicorn.livejournal.com]

Technically, there realy wasn't any need to have the job cursed at all.

Because, lets just look back before Harry's first year. I do not know if there is any exact date associated with Voldemorts visit to Dumbledore so he could get the Defense Job. That was when he cursed the job.

That was BEFORE Harry was even born.

JKR has set forth a idea that, for 17+ Years - I don't even know if anyone ever figured out what year but it could have been many years before the prophecy was made. So you could even be into 20-25 years.

That means, Hogwarts has gone through at the very least 17 Defense Against the dark arts professors. Thats the least number because Voldie would have visited no later than Harry's birth clearly and it really has to be more than 17, because it seems to be when Voldemort returned to England.

Again, I don't know if there was ever a date figured out for the visit of Voldie to get the job.

So it's almost boardering on stupid that Hogwarts would be able to continuously fill the DADA position. There certainly could not be that many capable qualified people just in England that could teach DADA. Dumbledore surely would have had to search out people from other countries because being that the magical community is relatively small I can't see them being able to get people 10 years in a row...let alone 20 years in a row.

The stupidity of it is JKR really didn't have to curse the job at all. It really doesn't add anything to the story as far as providing anything. She still could have had the teachers start falling off each year anyway.

Example 1 - Quirrell was connected with Voldemort - he returned from his travels only to be killed by the Lily love magic connection. He was previously a muggle studies teacher (yea, thats what JKR said)

#1 - there is no need for a curse to exist. He's gotten rid of by the plot for being attached to Voldemort.

Example 2 - Lockhart gets zapped at the end and is also shown to be incapable and a screw up anyway.

#2 realy doesn't need to be associated with the curse.

Example 3 - Lupin is a werewolf. Did anyone really think that would end well?

#3 - As nice as it is to have a potion for a werewolf, seriously. He's dangerous. I can't agree that I'd want him to be in charge of my child IF he can't even remember to take his potion. Seriously, he should have been fired anyway. You don't need a curse here to show Lupin was not very responsible at the end of that book.

Example 4 - Moody wasn't moody, nuff said.

#4 - He wasn't even the real guy who was supposed to be teaching, I dont' see why there was a curse needed to realize why he needed to be gone.

Example 5 - Umbridge.

#5 - She sucks, see Harry, Snape's not so bad after all. Umbridge herself was a curse, so I don't see why there needed to be another around for any reader to say she needed to go.

Example 6 - Severus. Hum, his exit was sorta...planned.

#6 - Since the Dumbledore AK was planned, what the hell did their need to be a curse for?

Example 7 - Death Eaters.

#7 - Really, it's the end of the series, why did we need a curse when all these teachers could easily be gotten rid of by the plot.

To me, JKR's premise would have worked if it had started when Harry showed up. Having the idea of the cures existing for more than 7 years makes it look highly bogus and stupid.

I have no idea after a few years HOW Dumbledore could have gotten qualified people to teach. He had to be running low by the 10th year. JKR's premise was just as easily served by each book if there wasn't a curse.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

True. Considering that in the first book, Quirrell sounds like he's taught Defense before, there was really no need to add a curse to the series. It's only later, in interviews and HBP (I think?), that we learn that Quirrell had been the Muggle Studies teacher, and that there really was a literal curse.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Well if we are to believe Hagrid. Lockhart was the only one applying for the job that year. Well, except for Severus of course, but he doesn't count, does he? And after that year Albus could only hire people who owed him something or people the Ministry forced on him.

As to when Voldemort returned to Britain and cursed the job - the dates run from December 1956 to the late 1960s. Take your pick as suits your story.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

Actually we haven't really got a handle on the dates at all. We know that Minerva started teaching mid-year in January 1957. We don't know for certain that she took over from Albus when he was appointed to Headmaster. Tom showed up and congratulated Albus on the appointment and asked for the DADA post, not the Transfiguration post. It's quite likely that Albus, after Merrythought retired in '45 had -- on the strength of being the man who took down Grindelwald-- been teaching DADA, to keep Tom from getting his wish and taking the post after he applied to Dippet for it -- back when he was just finishing school.

We do know that in '96 Fudge claimed that the Ministry had been trying to catch Tom for nearly 30 years. So he returned to Britain by at least the mid-'60s. But we don't know how loong after his interview with Albus, the Ministry became aware of him.

All this is further complicated by Lupin's claim that it wasn't thought that he would be able to attend Hogwarts, but Albus became Headmaster and it was suddenly arranged for him. Lupin didn't start Hogwarts until '71.

Nor do we know how long after finishing Hogwarts Tom traced the Locket to Hepzibah Smith, ingratiated himself with her, killed her, and fled the country. We only know he was gone for a decade.

So his showing up to ask for the DADA post could have been as early as 1955 or as late as maybe 1965. It is unlikely that he'd have had the nerve to openly ask for the post after he was already being widely known as Voldemort -- although it is plain that that ame was beginning to attach to him even then.