According to Dickens, what happens to creativity in an industrial society? Is he right? Why or why not?

Charles Dickens was sharply critical of industrialization. He often suggested that people, especially the working class, were dehumanized by it. One of Dickens' most obvious critiques of creativity in an industrialized society is Hard Times, his tenth novel. 

Step-by-step explanation

In Hard Times, Dickens gives a scathing review of industrialization. He creates a fictitious industrial town called Coketown, and it is a place full of desperation and sadness. For creativity specifically, the children in Coketown's school are not taught to be creative or even think for themselves; rather, they become cogs in the industrialization machine, only allowed to consider cold facts. The upper middle class is not much better; they try to ignore how miserable they are, and also reject creativity and imagination. Sissy, the main character, represents this battle between what is real and what we imagine and create. She does not quite fit into Coketown's world and tries to find a balance between creativity and imagination and facts. 

To an extent, I believe Dickens is correct. Our society often encourages moneymaking, constant hard work, and financial success; having the nicest things, owning the nicest house, etc. rather than pursuing more creative hobbies and opportunities that might yield less financial success but would be more artistically fulfilling. Perhaps today's society isn't as brutal as the one in Coketown, where soot, sickness, and depression seem to be everywhere, but many of Dickens' ideas ring true.