1.In what ways do Gilgamesh's deeds help advance or preserve that society? 2. What do Gilgamesh's qualities and talents suggest were important...

I think
the note of conclusion that is
struck in the epic is one where Gilgamesh understands his purpose
as being
geared towards social betterment. Gilgamesh had carried himself for much of
the
narrative as one driven by his own personal notion of the good.  The
self- indulgence that
defined so much of his identity is shed towards the end
of the narrative. The way in which
Gilgamesh evolves is one where he
acknowledges the importance of his deeds in a larger
sense:

And so they traveled until they reached

Uruk.
There Gilgamesh the king said to the boatman:
/>Study the
brickwork, study the fortification;
climb the
ancient staircase to the
terrace;

study how it is
made; from the terrace see
the planted and
fallow fields, the
ponds and orchards.

One league is the inner city,
another
league 
is orchards; still another the fields
beyond;

over there is
the precinct of the temple. . .
. ,
Three leagues and the temple precinct of
Ishtar. />
Measure Uruk, the city of Gilgamesh 

For Gilgamesh, the very idea that he can
identify with the city of Uruk,
"his" city, represents his ability to embrace
deed and actions that advance and
preserve society.  When he speaks to the
boatman, the pride he feels is not for himself, but for
something larger that
he has helped to create.  The intricacies and nuances have become part of
why
he does what he does and why he believes what he believes.

At the end
of
the narrative, Gilgamesh understands that the path to find some notion of
transcendence in a
temporal condition of being is to do for others, to act in
a manner that advances the social
order and collective notion of the good.
 The fact that the epic ends in this light is
reflective of how the ancient
cultures defined what the purpose of being. They did not see
individuals as
needing to capitulate to self- indulgence.  The cultures placed primacy on
acting
for a wider call to action.  They demand this not only from
individuals, but also from their
leaders.  The ancient Sumerian and
Babylonian cultures insisted that political leaders act with
something larger
in mind.  The measurement of one's success is in the embrace of Uruk.

 

For Gilgamesh, this becomes a critical aspect of his definition and
sense
of being in the world. At the same time, Gilgamesh's flaws represent
how human beings must
strive to put larger interests above their own.
 Gilgamesh is not immediately focused on being a
ruler who looks out for the
welfare of his people.  Rather, he is self indulgent and acts in a
manner
filled withand pride.  The flaws that he embodies are flaws that the ancient cultures
saw
as intrinsic to human beings. The fact that Gilgamesh must emerge from
these actions and evolve
is a reflection of how the culture believes that
human beings possess the capacity to change and
"shed skin" in order to
embrace a condition of what can be from what is.  Gilgamesh's
actions towards
the end of the epic reaffirm the ancient cultural understanding of purpose
and
being in the world.  

Gilgamesh's positive qualities
could be displayed in a
hero of the modern setting.  In the American
condition, one would have to find someone who was
driven by a need to make
money or advance their own name.  It could be someone who is of a
particular
area and finds their way to advance to the top of said social order.  The parallel
to
Gilgamesh could be in how they recognize that acting in the name of social
cohesion gains
importance in their world view. Modernizing the Gilgamesh
narrative into a modern condition is
the basis of the many types of cinema
dramas such as American

Gangster or Gangs

of New
York.