Who is The "First Family" (Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel) from Friedman's Fables and what is their importance?

The story of the "First Family" examines the theme of responsibility. On one level, the fable proposes that parents don't take enough conscious responsibility for raising their children, which suggests that children learn as much through observation as they do by direct example. On another level, its narrative style can be seen as an accusation of how too much responsibility is being handed over to others - in other words, parents look to outside influences to tell them how to raise their families.