鲁彦一生坚持"文艺为人生"、"文艺为社会"的主张，写出了不少较好的作品，如"五四"时期写成的短篇小说集《柚子》，有力地诅咒、攻击黑暗腐朽的社会，揭露封建军阀的丑恶，表现了强烈的爱国反帝热情。他的作品以描写乡村小有产者和农民的生活见长，写出当时世态的炎凉，现实的悲惨，被鲁迅称为"乡土文学"作家。 Lu Yan insisted on the proposition of "literature reflects the life and the society" and created a number of good works, such as The Pomelo, which is a short story written in the "May 4th" era that strongly curses and attacks the dark and decayed society, reveals the ugliness of feudal warlords, and expresses strong patriotic anti-imperialist enthusiasm. His works shows strength in describing the life of little bourgeois and farmers in the countrysides and revealing the fickleness of the world and miserable reality. It's therefore called "an author of native literature" by Lu Xun.