Actually, I will die by your side on that hill, or at least put in a good effort before retreating. The main reason I was repeating how the writing was poor is because the book gets held up as like this literary masterpiece since it's taught in schools and is on every single list of "books you must read before you die." Of course the reason it's taught in school is largely about propaganda, not literary genius, but the people who love it will talk about it like it's barely a step down from Shakespeare, even though a lot of the writing is objectively cringe. Like I just read the hero's opening description as having "ruggedly handsome features." But I agree, it's really good at what it does well. I think in most cases and in most spaces, it should be shit on and taken down a peg because it doesn't deserve its common position as being this great masterpiece, but the other side of that coin is that it's an entertaining and effective book, certainly not trash simply by virtue of how it gets used to serve a reactionary agenda.