(Estragon with a supreme effort succeeds in pulling off his boot. He peers inside it, feels about inside it, turns it upside down, shakes it, looks on the ground to see if anything has fallen out, finds nothing, feels inside it again, staring sightlessly before him.)
VLADIMIR
Well?
ESTRAGON
Nothing.
VLADIMIR
Show me.
ESTRAGON
There's nothing to show.
VLADIMIR
Try and put it on again. (1.34-8)
Estragon’s putzing about with his boot is a central iteration of absurdity in the play. It’s unclear what he’s looking for inside the boot and obviously irrational to think that anything will materialize if he puts it back on. On the other hand, we are also introduced to the sort of backwards logic of Waiting for Godot in this scene. Vladimir has a point: if Estragon puts his boot on, there will be something inside it.
VLADIMIR
I thought it was he.
ESTRAGON
Who?
VLADIMIR
Godot.
ESTRAGON
Pah! The wind in the reeds.
VLADIMIR
I could have sworn I heard shouts.
ESTRAGON
And why would he shout?
VLADIMIR
At his horse.
Silence.
ESTRAGON
(violently) I'm hungry!
VLADIMIR
Do you want a carrot? (1.245-53)
Notice how Vladimir and Estragon switch rapidly from serious subject matter (whether or not Godot has arrived) to absurdly inane details (that would be carrots). This is part of the play’s attempt at "tragicomedy," but also the reason why Vladimir and Estragon can’t take part in anything meaningful: they are too distracted by the petty habits of everyday life.
VLADIMIR
Do you want a carrot?
ESTRAGON
Is that all there is?
VLADIMIR
I might have some turnips.
ESTRAGON
Give me a carrot. (Vladimir rummages in his pockets, takes out a turnip and gives it to Estragon who takes a bite out of it. Angrily.) It's a turnip!
VLADIMIR
Oh pardon! I could have sworn it was a carrot. (1.253-7)
If we look at Waiting for Godot through our Magic Allegory Lens, this exchange becomes commentary on the way that most people lead their lives, concerned with the petty differences between turnips and carrots and missing the bigger picture.